Tulsi Fernandez, School Captain
You’re school captain right?
Yeah :) though I still can't believe it sometimes 😂
It's been like a decade long dream ☺️
Can you tell me the story of that dream?
Okay, sure! I still remember all the election posters from when I first joined GWH in the first grade, and over the years the longing to give back to the school just grew because of all the chances I had to grow as part of the school community.
I think I've always gravitated towards being a leader, and I seemed to have this deep-seated sense of responsibility, which nurtured this 'voice of the group' persona that sometimes got me in trouble even with the authorities 😂but at the end of it, I was just really proud to be able to bring both entities (the school and the group I was 'representing') to a common resolution that worked for both.
I've been here my entire school life and genuinely love our community, and not in spite of the difficulties we students, our parents, teachers, and the school itself face, but because of the way we try our best to work with situations instead of what can easily become conflict
all the opportunities the school presents us with have shaped us into who we are, and I knew I had to at least try to give back.
Though I'm arguably less obviously that 'voice of the group' now, I'm still that kid who wants to follow protocol, help the students interact better with teachers/ the school and just let our community thrive through encouraging 'creativity, communication and collaboration'.I'm just grateful that I've been allowed to do so in this position.
Whoa, so tell me Tulsi, what’s your mission as the captain? What did you set off to achieve as captain?
As I coincidentally just mentioned, I think my main goal was to foster 'creativity, communication and collaboration'. Before campaigning, I really worked on examining my character, identifying potential strengths, and seeing how that would fit into what the constantly evolving environment of GWH needs and would benefit from.
I think the foundations of anything I do hinge on those 3 concepts and, more importantly, I think the different groups in school would be able to work more effectively by encouraging the use of the same. as an art, music, writing, etc. enthusiast. I really wanted to be able to give creative students the platform to not merely showcase those talents, but build a community which could come together to create initiatives and contribute to relevant and significant causes. Regarding communication, I think several seemingly minor problems we encounter as students are really the result of the more major issue - the communication gap between the school and the student body. as someone who has enjoyed being able to represent student views on numerous occasions in the past, this is something I wanted to bring to the forefront of the changes that could benefit our school.
Finally, the school has always instilled in me the value of team spirit, teamwork, and feedback, whether it be the art team, music club, or just house spirit on sports day. More collaboration of such sort would bring together students and let them feel like a part of a much bigger entity that could have a tangible impact in terms of inter-school competitions or clubs or even social issues we feel are important.
How would you describe the chemistry of the council as a whole?
From the day on which I saw the 60-odd names on the signup list for council shortlisting, I knew the responsibility we felt towards the school would bring us together despite trivial setbacks, and through the drama, unprecedented changes to the election process, intense campaigning and finally the announcement of the members, that just became more and more true. The emotions we experienced together throughout the process kindled a kinship I don't think any of us expected. but the sentiments are only one facet of this bond. Of course, when we watched each other being officially sworn in, flags rippling in the captivating moment, I felt overwhelmed with the honour of being able to work with such dedicated, hardworking individuals. But the real defining moments were those of difficult, last-minute decisions on frenzied chats, or all of us providing our ideas and opinions and watching a thought grow into an event, and even the more charged moments of tension. Those smaller things were what truly drove home how innovative, professional and committed the council was. Like any group of people we have conflict, but we always end up rallying when it counts, and know we can count on each other for constructive criticism, support in frustration, and celebration of triumphs.
But how do you deal with conflict?
I think if you put a group of 20+ teenagers in a group, even without them having to plan every school event for a year, represent the student body, carry out duties and resolve other issues, there's bound to be conflict. but with us, it's always meaningful, and we come out stronger from it.
As part of our duty, I like to think we as a council focus on handling our issues in the most professional way, allowing us more space, time and comfort to make effective progress. This has included an emphasis on the involvement of the entire council, putting personal affairs aside to enable healthy and sustained collaboration, and always bearing in mind our duty to the student body, deadlines and continuously striving to learn and grow. Additionally, I hope it is accurate to say that as we spend more time working together, we are cultivating an open, productive environment with transparency, clear communication and receptiveness to feedback.
And you are also picking up the reins from a previous council. What kind of space did they leave for your council?
The previous council seemed to always be looking to push boundaries for advancements. An unbelievably talented group, their batch made the first steps into several new spheres and were supported impeccably well by their accomplished council. Their virtually legendary work has set an exceptionally high standard which we are very excited to attain and transcend in our own way. We eagerly look forward to developing our engagement in the avenues they've bravely pursued, but also to explore approaches of our own, especially as facilitated by the current situation. And of course, we're proud to be able to contribute to the flourishing legacy we watched them build, nurture and engrave on the history of our community, enhancing experiences as every GWH council did before them.
Since we’re in lockdown, I'm sure the dynamics of the council have changed. How do you think the council is viewed during these times? What's the reaction of the student body?
Where do you fit in?
I think several students are unsure of what the council could possibly do in such a situation. few may even go so far as to laughingly remark that we would be the council that was elected and didn't have to do anything during their term of office. Obviously, it's our duty to prove otherwise, and use these conditions as an advantage. As seen by the growing number of online initiatives started by GWH students, there is clearly no lack of creativity, intent to create social impact or pure desire to act. I believe that this is the perfect opportunity to harness this outburst of expression and innovation into connecting members of our community and celebrating their talents in this time of 'forced inactivity'.
This is a great chance to step up and showcase the collective energy of the student community, give others the chance to appreciate their original ideas and thus give back to the students
As students ourselves, we as a council may have been slightly unsure ourselves, at first, but pushed ourselves to think differently, work with the situation, and coordinate to come up with something to do this - we can barely wait to transform it into reality.
Today’s council is working in unprecedented times. you guys deal with a situation that, if all goes well, future councils might never have to weather. how would you like to be remembered for it?
I think all we ask of the school community it that we remember this situation and how each one of us - school, teachers, parents, council and student body - persevered to make this situation work for everyone, and revive this passion to keep our mini-society alive and its best interests at heart, when pursuing projects in the future. The drive to continue to work for the student body while balancing academic, extracurricular, college, personal, etc. requirements is something I know future councils will value and respect. I hope that in forcing ourselves to think differently to work around the pandemic, we help instil in students the significance of innovation and creativity in any situation.
Finally, we hope that the work we do will be remembered for the atmosphere of fun, celebration and happiness we desire to create, helping combat at least some of the dreariness, boredom, or sadness the several situations of 2020 may have resulted in - a little warmth to comfort us in these extraordinary times of proliferating atrocities.
And what is your message to future captains?
Though I haven't been in this post for too long, or under the usual conditions, here's what I've learned so far -
Don't ever be afraid to try new things - the school is there to hear and support you - but definitely stick to protocol while doing so 😂.
Please don't let trivialities or pride get in the way of the work you set out to do, you owe that to both yourself and the school. Make use of the incredible talent and skills each member of not only the council, but the student body too, possesses: the resulting ideas and projects will astound you. Remember that you are, arguably most importantly, a team.
Always always be open to feedback. Cherish EVERY LITTLE moment.
Especially moments of conflict, because the way you resolve them defines you as leaders.
Your time is what you make of it.
Adhya Jhunjhunwala, School Vice-Captain
What led you to the position of vice-captain?
Actually initially I was going to run for house captain instead of school captain, but all of my friends in a way convinced me that I could do more. That I had the potential I guess? So I decided to work for the school captain post. After the election results, I was a little upset about not getting captain, but Tulsi is a great captain and we make a good team so I have no regrets :)
How's your relationship with her?
We actually didn’t run in the same circles before this, we spoke a little here and there but it was never a close friendship. Yet after we started working together we talk a lot more and she’s one of the smartest, most hardworking people I know. So I’d say our relationship is new but it is definitely a good one.
How would you describe the chemistry of the council as a whole?
I would say we work with our flaws you know? Like we have our differences in opinions and we have our own little fights individually, but when it comes to the events we do come to a decision well. It might take some time because we’re a pretty large council, but the decisions are always something we are proud of. So the chemistry can’t be described in one word but I definitely know it’s a chemistry that won’t fall short on us, that we can work very well together.
What about disagreements?
Not gonna lie it does happen. I mean it’s bound to, there is no way all of us can always agree. But I feel like we deal with it well. We sort it out with each other instead of having petty fights, which I think is really important. Not perfect but our council is definitely functional at its best.
So what's your plan for your term?
We have a variety of plans. Cultural, sports and otherwise too. I mean it’s a little disturbed due to the pandemic at the moment, but our main aim was making the council the most approachable and well-working council. So as of now, our main plan is to get through this pandemic and still achieve our central goal.
How are you working through this pandemic?
We are currently processing proposals for online events and online platforms where we can continue our council work. It’s an unprecedented situation so we are trying to be as creative as possible to get through it. We want to involve all grades so we are approaching all kinds of media including social media and parents of young students. In a nutshell we are merely switching our ideas to an online platform, but making sure that the work is done, and done really well.
How do you feel about the situation? It must be frustrating.
It is quite frustrating. We all had these ideas in our minds about how our council year would be, or what events we would hold. This whole pandemic in a way disrupted that. Even though an online situation isn’t bad but it’s just not what we hoped for I guess. It’s not the same when you have an online event as opposed to running around from corner to corner in school organising school events. I guess this pandemic was frustrating in terms of the thrill of each event.
Since we’re in lockdown, I'm sure the dynamics of the council have changed. How do you think the council is viewed during these times? What's the reaction of the student body?
I think the council is not viewed at all right now. Over these days our main aim has been to reach out because we need the student body to know that we are still here and they can approach us. We don’t want their view to change, but it isn’t exactly something to control. So we are trying to control the possible outcomes instead and bring back a strong front with leaders who they can look up to. It isn’t easy or ideal but at this time I think it is necessary.
And you are also picking up the reins from a previous council. What kind of space did they leave for yours?
An amazing one honestly. Their council was great and along with that they had a wonderful grade that supported them every step of the way. I can definitely say my grade is just as helpful and our council is also incredible. So it’ll be difficult to fill their shoes but I’m sure we have a really good chance of doing so.
Today’s council is working in unprecedented times. you guys deal with a situation that, if all goes well, future councils might never have to weather. How would you like to be remembered for it?
Hopefully as the only council that had to go through it. It’s a situation I really wish doesn’t return. But another thing I would want our council to be remembered for would be our work. Work that we managed to do in these unprecedented times. We haven’t had any serious fallouts or disagreements even with all the frustration that each of us have. We all put the work before our individual likes and dislikes which is the only thing getting us through this time. So this is the mark we would want to leave behind. Of working together in difficult times, no matter what kind.
And what would you like to say to future council members?
I would just tell them to be smart about it. To not let small disputes affect how you see your peer as a leader. I think that’s one thing I have seen that breaks a council. And I know if they’re elected they are good leaders, I would tell them to make sure they are good team players.
Aarush Bedi, Sports Captain
I heard you're the sports captain of IB. What led you to the position you are in today?
So in a sense are you asking what drove me to not only run but to try and win the position?
Yes. what’s your story?
Well I've always loved sports. You know, it's been a way to be a stress buster for me and I've been part of the team since the 8th grade. And football is the one sport I truly love. I've dedicated a lot of time over these past 3-4 years to Greenwood's football team and always thought I'd at least try and run for sports captain. And as I came to IB I understood anybody could run and the candidates weren't just chosen by the teachers. This was the push I needed. So when StuCo season came around I did all I could to win. I made posters and canvassed a lot. And I did practise a lot for my speech. And it did work out 😄.
What is it that you wish to do for the school?
I wanted to make a mark, you know before I left the school I wanted to be able to bring some change or do something that people for the next few years would be like Damn. Remember how he did that? But due to the situations, nothing really has happened. I would love to be more active and do more for the school but my hands are pretty much tied as of now 🤷♂️
Strange times for everybody.
Very true.
What did you plan to do initially? What kind of mark did you wanna make?
I hadn't really thought of exactly what to do, but in my mind, I wanted to make sure if I ever had the opportunity to arise where I know the student body and the faculty could really be at an advantage I would make that decision.
If not as an individual, then what about as the entire council? How has this council proved themselves unique?
Well, I really wish we had something concrete but we just haven't had enough time to do anything. We have had a lot of new competitions like the master chef competition
But we had a lot of plans for the next academic year. But again due to the circumstances I feel we just can't do complete justice to our own expectations.
And how are you guys dealing with that?
We have had conversations to create an Instagram page for the student council so we could reach out to all the students (Instagram because pretty much all the kids from 8th to 12th have accounts) and if we needed to, have some competitions online.
Since we’re in lockdown, I'm sure the dynamics of the council have changed. how do you think the council is viewed during these times? What's the reaction of the student body?
To be quite frank I think half the people have forgotten we have a council 😂
I mean we're the student council and we need to be in school to really be able to do anything.
What abt the previous council? what kind of space did they leave for you to fill?
I can't say much about the past ones other than the ones I know, which surprisingly are the last two captains, both are extremely humble and amazing athletes, especially Reshma( the sports captain of last year) she has been super supportive and honestly, she left a big mark 😂.
how does it feel to be following in her footsteps?
It feels amazing, she is a real good friend of mine and as I said she has been super supportive since day one. Not only that but she's an amazing person to look up to as well. Even though I may not be able to do much during my tenure hopefully I can at least make her proud 😂.
Today’s council is working in unprecedented times. You guys deal with a situation that, if all goes well, future councils might never have to weather. How would you like to be remembered for it?
In my eyes, we've lost a lot of time, and if we were able to make up for that lost time by taking the upcoming opportunities and knocking them out of the park, I'd say that would be an amazing way to be remembered. As a council that at one point was in an epidemic but still managed to deliver to the student body what they promised.
How abt solely as the sports captain? Must be difficult when there’s no school for the sports.
It is quite difficult but hopefully when things open up I can pick up where I left off and do as much as I can to get the sports competitions that were planned. Like I said make up for the lost time.
What message would you like to leave for aspiring sports captains?
I would say hard work is probably the best way to get where you are, but having hope and belief that you can make it is an amazing thing to have.
Vidhan Sethi, CAS Prefect
So I heard you’re the CAS Prefect. we don’t have that position in the ICSE Council. Can you explain what you do?
So CAS is a requirement for the IB diploma, it stands for Creativity Activity and Service. Each student studying for the IB diploma is required to do a minimum of 18 tasks/experiences that cover one, two or all strands in each experience. Over the course of 18 months in the IBDP, you need to complete these experiences, upload evidence and a reflection essay to prove that you have done this experience. So the CAS Prefect organises these experiences in school, I help others who have doubts regarding the criteria for a CAS experience, and further assist the cultural secretary and the school captain and vice-captain primarily and any other stuco member in any activity in and around the school.
What led you to become the CAS Prefect?
Okay so I ran for the position of school captain, but on losing, looking at my achievements and my activities in school, the teachers had a vote on it, and then the CAS coordinator took it to the principal and asked him to make this badge, it's the first time in GWH IB that there's been a CAS prefect.
As the first elected as CAS Prefect, what are your plans for the position?
So I had a couple of different ideas for the school, mainly regarding events to be hosted, we proposed multiple different activities. As IB doesn't have inter-house cultural events, that was one main thing I wanted to bring from being in ICSE, I saw the commitment and the passion the students put into each event. Now because of the lockdown and the time away from school, I don't know how we're going to plan these. The student council has been discussing ideas, but we haven't gotten any response from the schools faculty yet. Other than this, the School fest and GWHMUN, were other events I was looking to head as we had already started working on the latter with the teacher in charge. Hopefully school begins soon and we have a few months to plan some events. All we can do is hope for that. Another such event that got cancelled but was the highlight of 11th grade was the CAS trip, which was again to be headed by me, and I had a few plans for that too, but it has gotten indefinitely postponed.
How are you coping with the lockdown and all your plans being indefinitely postponed?
It's really hard to be honest, but we all have our own ways. Mainly keeping busy with internships and individual projects. Through school we haven't been able to do much. I think one great thing everyone I've seen take-up is individual projects mainly marketed over Instagram. I too have done the same, an online dance competition and a fundraiser for a girl's school, and a few other projects have been planned. It's really hard to be productive when the entire country has slowed down, other than this I've been busy with studying cause our finals are from July.
Has it affected the teamwork and connection between the council members?
I think individually everyone is still in contact with each other, but as a group, the entire student council, isn't as active as it was in February. I think it's mainly cause the lack of events, so if our plans get approved for this lockdown, then I think it'll bring the stuco back into motion and the connection as such I believe is the same, although we haven't been talking as a group, I'm sure that once the activities are back, we'll be back to normal.
What about your student body? What kind of image are you putting out for them?
I think our student council is well connected to the student body. We have a 21-22 member body, and that keeps us well connected to almost everyone in different grades. I think the main issue now is that half the grade below us is filled with new admissions who we won't get to meet till school begins, so it'll be hard to speak to them. Our council has already organised 3 events which turned out quite well. I think the student body has seen a good council function and we hope they have been happy, other than this I think the future council has quite a lot up their sleeve for what's to come in this next year. All in all, I think they've got a good council, filled with different talents and a quite approachable one too.
And you are also picking up the reins from a previous council. What kind of space did they leave for your council?
I think our seniors really killed it as the previous student council. They have made it quite hard to match in terms of the events they held (Ignite and GWHMUN) and just the overall performance of them as a council, but our first few events have been organised quite well, and in some teachers words "better than last year's" so I think we're not too far behind them. There has been a lot to learn from all of them when it comes to the attitude and behaviour you maintain in school and with your peers. They have set the bar quite high, but stuco 21 is coming to set it higher.
Today’s council is working in unprecedented times. you guys deal with a situation that, if all goes well, future councils might never have to weather. How would you like to be remembered for it?
I think this situation is really difficult which our council is facing and I really hope the future council doesn't have to go through this. I hope we are remembered as the council that did our duties along with dealing with this pandemic, which has been a difficult task that we as a council together are trying to handle.
And your position is new! What kind of legacy would you want to leave as the first CAS Prefect?
I think this has always been a dream to be the first something, and to have successors look up to me and try to fill in the new empty shoes. It's something that by far I will remember always, as the FIRST CAS Prefect, and I really hope everyone after me has as good an experience that I have been having. I think the CAS Prefect is the one position other than the school captain and vice who has been running around everywhere, getting documents and work in order, which is definitely a harder task when you're presented with a time crunch. That's why I believe I have set a good name for the CAS Prefect and I hope the future ones keep up the name.
What do you want to tell future CAS Prefects? What’s your advice?
I'd tell them to just be themselves, manage their time well, and ALWAYS ALWAYS listen to Gunjal Ma'am and Richa Ma'am (also send a prior email for everything) 😂.
Urvi Nath, MUN Prefect
So I heard you’re the MUN Prefect. We don’t have that position in the ICSE
Council. Can you explain what you do?
So firstly as MUN Prefect it's my responsibility to organize and oversee all the Muns that take place in our school namely MSP and GWHMUN. I also keep track of all the MUNs students of our school participate in and help gather the team to send for them. These were the responsibilities that I was given so far.
What led you to become the MUN Prefect? What experience did you gather?
This position of mun prefect didn't really exist when we all ran for council. I'd originally run for sports captain but I didn't get it but the school decided to give me this position instead. It was a challenge as I'm not really an experienced MUNer but I work with people who are and together we're able to successfully organize events. So far I've actually learnt quite a bit more about MUN and the small nuances that need to be kept in mind when organising one.
As MUN Prefect, what are your plans for the position?
As I said earlier, I don't have too much experience in MUN so my primary goal is to use this opportunity to learn more about it. That way I can give my best to this role. I want to successfully organize GWHMUN so that it lives up to the high reputation it gained last year. Lastly I also want to make sure that everyone interested in participating in MUN gets a good chance to do so. Even if they don't have much experience I want to be able to give them a fair chance to learn it and try it out.
How are you coping with the lockdown and all your plans being indefinitely postponed?
This lockdown has been a huge obstacle due to the huge amounts of uncertainty that it's caused. However, I've remained in regular contact with the teacher in charge and have gotten her permission to work on planning GWH MUN with the hopes that it will happen later this year.
Has it affected the teamwork and connection between the council members?
When the lockdown began then yes, there was a small period when there wasn't much happening. Recently though we all came together and made a plan to continue doing our duties as council members and planned how to get around the lockdown constraint. We came up with online alternatives to what would ideally happen in school and proposed these ideas to the school as a group.
And you are also picking up the reins from a previous council. What kind of space did they leave for your council?
Our previous council are people we all really look up to. As of now we're just a few months into our time and leaders and haven't been able to build a solid connection like that yet. What I respected the most about them was how united they were and this is something I hope we can also achieve. They also gave us great advice during elections on what to expect and it turned out to be really helpful.
Today’s council is working in unprecedented times. You guys deal with a situation that, if all goes well, future councils might never have to weather. How would you like to be remembered for it?
I would like to be able to show the school that though we're going through a different time, we're not letting it stop us in our duties. I hope that we can still successfully conduct competitions and organize events and be useful and good leaders that are remembered.
What kind of legacy would you want to leave as the MUN Prefect?
I'd love to be able to give the next mun prefect a position where they know exactly what they're duties are. As the first one, it took me some time to figure this out and I hope the next person to take this position feels more confident in their position.
What do you want to tell future MUN Prefects? What’s your advice?
Our school has a great reputation when it comes to Gwh mun and my advice to our next Prefect would be to make sure that this continues. I say, find a small group of people who are interested in mun and work together with them to organize the best event. Furthermore, I'd like them to make sure not to only focus on the experienced munners but also keep on the lookout for new faces who are eager to try it out.
Shardul Gupta, Band Major
How would you describe your role as the band major? What's its importance?
The band major is someone who directs and guides its fleet during the sports day. The day when the whole school showcases its talents, its power and its unity. This whole show is supported by the beats of the band if the band fails in any way the whole show starts to get spoilt. So, it is important that the band does its duty and I am there to guide and direct anyone in the band to perfection for our show day.
How would you describe the chemistry of the council as a whole?
In our council, there are clearly distinct groups. Obviously because of people being close friends. The council is a collection of people from different groups in our grade. Although, this is the case every decision taken by us is for the betterment of the student body and for the name of our school.
How have your usual duties changed due to the unusual situation?
My duty only comes for 2-3 months during the time of sports day. Otherwise, I am always there to help the other council members, from organizing events to executing them. I don't see my duties being changed, as we have a couple of projects on the way.
Do you train your juniors?
When I was the bass drummer. I always helped out my fellow bass drummers, the band major for the past 2-3 years, the conductors and some snare drummers. I can only help a limited few as I only know how to play the bass drums, but I will help the person in need in whatever way I can.
What plans did you have for sports day?
I didn't really have any plans. I just wanted to go with the flow after the auditions have taken place, but now due to these unprecedented times, no one knows when we will be back if or not we will have a sports day. So, even though if I had plans, they would all be destroyed 😂.
How do you plan to encourage people to join the band?
As I have said before I have been part of the band for 5 years now, this being the sixth one. People know me as the guy, who plays the bass drum during the time of sports day. Now leading this fleet is a great honour for me. I would like to encourage them to join by saying that we are the backbone of the show. Whatever happens, is because of our beats and our tunes. If we are synchronized and perform well, people will remember the band for the rest of the day. If you would like to be a part of it. The band is open for anyone to audition for. Not only is it because of that but you may learn a new skill, by playing a new instrument in no more than 2 days. If this excites you, join the band.
How would you like to be remembered for your term?
As the best band major ever? 😂. I have been part of the band for at least 5 years now this would be my sixth. I was known as the guy who played the bass drum. I have seen many band majors lead the fleet. Some good, some moderate but I want to be known as the best band major this school has seen not only by the band conductors and the band but also by the school faculty and students.
What message would you like to pass to your successors?
Discipline in the band is key. Be kind to then have fun with them, but if they start to get out of hand after multiple warnings start taking some action. As there are two kinds of people who join the band, some who are actually interested in playing and some who just want to skip the march. So, learn how to treat people, 'cuz if the band likes you and respects you, they will play well on the day. Another thing to keep in mind is to respect the conductors and the faculty helping you to organize the band.
Srivastava Missula, Magazine Editor
So hi! How did becoming the magazine editor feel?
Honestly, it was a sucker punch, but I mean that in the best way possible. I was running for House Captain during the elections, but the Editor role was nomination-based, so it came as a complete surprise. I think this will likely hold for future batches as well because the nominees for the posts are never announced, just the final candidates. Once I came to grips with it though, it became rather enriching. Some of the more demanding aspects of the role were collaborating and networking to gather works, as well as maintaining detailed chronicles of events. To be honest, I wasn't even all that confident in my writing skills before I took up this post. But ever since then, I've constantly had to generate content and adhere to a standard of quality in my presentation, and I feel this has bolstered both my self-esteem and my competency in, well, writing.
Oh wow, and what plans do you have or did have pre corona as a Magazine Editor?
Well, I noticed that not too many people were all that enthusiastic about the magazine. That isn't to say we didn't receive submissions, but it didn't feel like people were trying to learn new things along the way; they just submitted something with decent quality that they happened to make at some point. Pre-corona, one of my plans was to raise awareness in lower grades by suggesting topics for them to write on, as well as scouting certain interested candidates and establishing a feedback loop so we could work closely on improving their submissions, and also teach them new skills along the way.
Can you also comment on your relationship with the rest of the council?
There's a little less to say about this. Our council is rather expansive, and we usually get along pretty well. I'd say the only catch is that my work is slightly isolated. There's less coordination and responsibility overlap with other council members, and I'm usually not as involved in event organisation, although I'm expected to record these events (producing write-ups and taking photographs).My fellow council mates are actually pretty supportive though. Even though they're the busiest folks in IB, some of them still made expansive contributions to the magazine.
Is it a lot of work? Do you get time to balance out with your other activities?
To be honest, balancing might have been a bigger issue if corona hadn't hit. I talked a lot with my predecessor, and he gave me some great advice regarding what the duties and expectations were for the role, so in some cases I could get things done even before the teachers asked me to do them. Balancing my activities hasn't been much of a problem so far, although there has been the odd hectic day when I get bulk submissions…
Do your peers or juniors ever treat you differently? Is it hard to enforce discipline?
Thankfully, my peers don't see me any differently, and I truly respect them for that. The juniors are a different matter though. I was always a bit on the reserved end, so now it seems that "Magazine Editor" is my entire identity as far as they're concerned. On the one hand, it's a label that allows them to recognise and cooperate with me, but it's also a little melancholic to have to go by a title, if you understand.
Enforcing discipline has never really been my forte. I've always been good at handling juniors and keeping them in check, but when it comes to larger crowds I have difficulty getting through because I struggle to raise my voice. To be fair, I feel I heavily rely on the other council members to lend me a hand here. I don't have as much of a responsibility to enforce discipline in the first place, so I haven't had to exercise that right much, but I still find that I struggle with it.
Rahul Arun, Cultural Secretary
What did it feel like when on valedictory sir put on your badge?
That's actually a really funny story, cause when they announced my name to go forward, quite a few people cheered and sir teased me about "being very popular with the girls" 😂😂and he then told the band major to whack me on the head with that stick thing if he saw me misbehaving.
So did you expect it?
Being teased by D'mello sir, not at all.
No, to become cultural secretary?
If I'm being honest, I reaaalllyy wanted to become school captain and I was kinda disappointed when they first announced it. I was actually properly upset, but I was the new kid and I knew I was lucky to be up there in the first place so I just stood and smiled. But after a few days, I was okay with it cause Tulsi ABSOLUTELY deserved it and it would be unfair for the new kid who joined 4 months ago to become school cap when she's been leading for 13 years.
What plans do you have now? Or what plans did you have pre corona?
Ignite. I wanted Ignite. I wanted it to be like nothing else. You know the way everyone just KNOWS vivum?I wanted that and more. I know we could do it because ignite 19 was insaaneee and we have an amazing team this year.And I know if everything had gone the way we saw it, we could've taken ignite to another level.
Any new features you wanted to add?
Yep so one thing I noticed when I joined Greenwood is the lack of house spirit smh. Maybe it's just an IB thing, but people here don't really care about their house. In my old school we've had literal FIGHTS over our houses and I really wanted to make sure that all the cultural events have some element of house spirit in them. In my old school, literally EVERYTHING was house wise and it just made everyone way more passionate about winning. So for example, Tulsi and I had an inter-house band competition planned and the teams were ready and practising for the competition also smhhh, but then school shut down so we couldn't have it.
We also made all the small events like quizzes and treasure hunts and stuff during the language day, science exhibition, etc sorted by house. I also wanted to have a proper TALENT show, because music and dance aren't the only cultural things that exist, and I don't like how it's treated that way.
But now that corona has set in, do you have any plans to make up for the setback?
Yep, so tulsi and I were talking about trying to have an online band competition. We're facing a lot of logistical issues though cause the majority of people playing at home don't have proper recording equipment. If we could sort that out we could've just gone ahead with it cause the teams are already prepared with their songs.
How's the council getting along?
Oh we're all pretty tight actually. That's one thing I like about IB, it's a smaller batch na so everyone kinda knows everyone I mean ofcourse there are exceptions, but most people in the grade get along.
So no arguments or fights yet?
Within the council? Nope, none I can think of xD
I mean yeah obviously there will be like small arguments when it comes to events and all but it's the kind that's sorted then and there.
Sounds Great!What about with your juniors and classmates? Do you feel like you get treated differently?
Okay so personally no, not really. See I'm a very very social person, I'm not bragging or anything, I just really like talking to people. So I'm on good terms with almost everyone from 8th grade to 12th 🌝
Does that help when enforcing something as a leader?
I'm really not a listen to me do this do that kinda person so I'll ask nicely and basically like
just as a friend kinda, I'm TERRIBLE at being bossy, but yes occasionally I do have to put my foot down, and when I have to do that this really helps.
Does council work get hard to manage along with academics or your extracurriculars?
Uhhhhh not really, but I don't have much to go by cause we only had like 3ish months before the school closed and there's not much we could do there. So up until now, it was all good I didn't find it difficult, but I'm sure that would've changed when we had to plan large scale events like GWH MUN or Ignite.
Do you think you get enough power as cultural secretary?
Oh yes absolutely, Tulsi, Adhya and I are given almost equal power which I really wasn't expecting. But it's not really about individual power na, the three of us make the decisions together.
Is it enough to conduct your duties to the best of your abilities?
Yeah in whatever limited time we had, I never felt like we needed more power than we were given.
Okay what's your leadership mantra, or style?
See for me it's all about the relationships. I told you na, I like talking to people, and I make it a point to be on good terms as much as possible because when you have a person's respect, You don't need power, you don't need to shout at people and threaten them and flash your badge if they know who you are and respect you (it's by far the most important thing a leader can have) and it goes two ways.
No one's going to respect you if you don't respect them if you act like you're above them and stuff it's never going to happen yeah but it shouldn't be like you be nice to them and give them respect and stuff when you want something from them you have to believe it and genuinely follow that.
- Interview by Minal Shaik
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