By: Margot Amouyal

On April 3rd, Sumaya Ibrahim clicked submit on her intent to form officially declaring her bid for Upper School president. This marks the seventh and final student council election Sumaya will run for as a Beaver student.

When asked why she wanted to run for president, Sumaya exclaimed,  “I have been going to Beaver since 6th grade and I have been running for student council every year. A better question would be why I first started running for student council. That was 6th grade so I really can’t pinpoint it; however, since being on student council for a few years now, I enjoy the process, organizing the events, and brainstorming. I love seeing something to become a tangible event… I think that is why I am running and continue to run.”

When asked what about the particular position of president intrigued her, Sumaya said, “I don’t want to sound self-righteous, but I think I have the experience to facilitate other members. I can provide some direction. I know what has not worked in the past and what has. I think I want to be president because I don’t want to limit myself to helping just one grade. I want to impact the whole school.”

This past year, Sumaya has served as representative to the board of trustees. In this position, she serves as the liaison between the school board and the Beaver student body. When explaining her position, Sumaya said, “[The board of trustees] role is set up as the voice to the students. When something is being discussed, my role is to be the person in the room who brings the student body’s voice into it. The role is to not cause change but to remind the people in the room who they are making decisions for.”

However, Sumaya made it clear that “The student representative doesn’t have a vote [on the board]. It is more of a symbolic role.”

This year, Sumaya has further aspirations and is currently running unopposed for the position of president, “Part of me is like, that takes the pressure off of running. But, part of me is thinking it would be more satisfying to be elected… I hope that [the student body] trusts that I will do my best even though I may not be elected by the populous.”

Sumaya later explained how for the majority of her Beaver experience, her being on student council has been a key component of her reputation, “I think again all rumors no basis to any of this, but when people think of me student council is strongly attached my reputation at school. Oh, Sumaya does student council. I don’t take that for granted for a second. I try to utilize that reputation to get me that position year after year…. I don’t want to get comfortable. I take [student council] very seriously and I get just as nervous every year I run. The people around me in my life know that after March break until the elections I am a hot nervous mess. It would suck that numbers on a vote what keep me from doing what I love.”

If elected, Sumaya hopes to reform the inner workings of the student council. She said that “there can be a scramble before an event.” Sumaya aims to end this “scramble” and faster decisions. She hopes to develop “a system that student council next year can use when planning events so that student council members in the future have something to point to when they feel they are forgetting something.” In addition, Sumaya aims to make “[student council members] feel excited about coming early Monday mornings” for student council meetings.

Since Sumaya is so involved in Beaver student council, one might assume she wants to pursue a career in politics, however, she exclaimed otherwise, “I know that I don’t ever want to get into politics.”

Sumaya aims to “think outside the box” claiming, “This is my goodbye year at a school that I have come to see as a second home. I want to give back to the school and the community for all they have given for me. I want to make it a safe, inviting, and fun place.”