Last spring, Kenzi Farish and Max Nishima were elected Head Prefects for the 2019-20 school year by their classmates and teachers. We are excited to see these two great students, and their amazing peers on the Prefect Assembly, lead the student body this year.
We sat down with Kenzi and Max to get to know them and to find out the impact they hope to make at SMUS.
Why did you want to be a Head Prefect?
Kenzi – I wanted to be a Head Prefect mostly because I wanted to be involved at the school at a high level. I got excited seeing others lead before me and I've always looked up to them, so I wanted to be that for the younger students. To me, going for this role is about reaching out to the students and whole community and being a part of their everyday lives.
Max – I've always looked up to the prefects and last year I realized, 'Now it's my turn to maybe be that person who can make a difference I want to see in the school. I can give back to this community, which has always been such an important place to me.' I always thought I would put my name out for Outdoor Council head or a prefect because Head Prefect always seemed unattainable; it's scary putting yourself out there. But at a certain point last year I realized that it's what I wanted because I wanted to push myself to be the best person I can be and do as much as I can in my Grade 12 year.
What makes Max Head Prefect material?
Kenzi – Max is so kind and always has a smile on his face. He always comes up to you and asks how your weekend was or how your day is going. I think it's important for a Head Prefect to be open and a genuinely nice person, and that's Max.
What makes Kenzi Head Prefect material?
Max – I can say a lot of the same things about Kenzi. She always has a smile on her face and is doing what she can to make people's day better. She does little things, too, like she writes 'Have a good day' on the boards in the classrooms, and that goes a long way to helping with school spirit.
What role do you see the Head Prefects playing in the community and for the student body?
Max – I think we're kind of like the people who stick all the parts together. We want to ensure that we get everybody's ideas and make sure they feel heard and encourage everybody to be the best person they can be.
Kenzi – We're a support system for all students. We are someone that you can talk to. And we're super approachable because we're students, as well! Especially at the Junior and Middle Schools, I want them to see us as older students that have a purpose in their school experience.
Max – It'd be nice if we're just kind of like their older siblings; hopefully they look up to us a bit but also feel like they can have fun with us, and we can get them excited to be students here.
What do you think will be the most challenging aspect of the position?
Kenzi – Balance. We're both very busy with classes, sports, volunteering and now being Head Prefects. The goal I set for myself was to make sure I'm choosing the things I most want to spend my time doing, and this is one of those things. We need to make sure we're putting our all into it and still having self-care time.
What are you most looking forward to about being a Head Prefect?
Max – I'm excited to get to know people from all different areas of the school. There is such a wide variety of people on the Prefect Assembly, but I'm also excited to connect with kids from the Junior and Middle school, and the younger grades at the Senior School, as well.
Kenzi – I'm looking forward to seeing the school from a different perspective now. I've always been the little fish and I guess now we're the big fish that get to play a role in helping all the little fish.
What kind of ideas do you and the Prefect Assembly have for the school year?
Kenzi - Our Prefect Assembly has set some priority areas to focus on: sustainability, inclusion and diversity, health and wellness, spirit, and technology.
Max – When we had our prefect retreat in the spring, everybody had great ideas, and everybody was passionate about certain things within those areas. We haven't figured out what projects will come from that, but we have all committed ourselves to make a positive change on the school this year.
Is there anything else you'd like to add about the coming school year?
Max – I hope everybody uses us as their tour guides or their how-to book this year. We want to meet as many people as we can and help make this a good year for all students.
Kenzi – We really care about what we're doing, and we want to spread that because we want kids, parents and teachers to really feel our energy and excitement, and hopefully feel the same way, too.
