Gracie Coscia-Collins ’09: Behind the Scenes in Sponsoring Student Council

Gracie Coscia-Collins ’09 served in various campus leadership positions during her time as a George School student, including tour guide, peer leader, and as a leader in the dance program. Upon her return to campus as a member of the dance faculty, Gracie also took on the role of dorm head of East Main. Like many who teach and work at George School, Gracie embraced an offer from the student leaders on campus by sponsoring Student Council for the first time this year.

“I feel very passionate about supporting student leaders to help them mold the campus through change while upholding our traditions,” said Gracie. “Making meaningful change is important to me in my role at George School. My sister helped significantly with updating the dress code during her time on campus. I knew that working with the student leaders on Student Council was something I wanted to be a part of.”

“I really love working with Student Council,” continued Gracie. “They are a great group of individuals who really love the school.” As their sponsor, Gracie feels very passionate about giving students agency to guide the agenda. “I see myself in a supporting role to Student Council. Natalie [Howlette ’22], the President, runs all of our meetings and the officers create the agenda. Sometimes, a member of the Deans’ Office or other adults in the community will give me a heads up to put an item of discussion—like our upcoming seven-term schedule—on the agenda. I bring the faculty perspective but am only a facilitator; it is truly students that lead the way,” said Gracie.

“Student Council has a very important role on campus,” explained Gracie. “Members are often approached by their peers to bring student concerns to the attention of faculty and staff. They are also spirit leaders that engage the community in activities that build community on campus. Student Council manages all the clubs on campus and encourages every student to get involved by joining a club that is of interest to them. Some of our students on council are extremely passionate about clubs as part of the campus community. Building community is really important to our student leaders,” said Gracie.

“On Halloween, we held a costume contest that brought a silly, fun, and lighthearted activity to campus. They were on the ground marketing the contest, building excitement, and succeeded in bringing a lot of students, who dressed in fun costumes, to Red Square. Student Council weekend is a big deal. This year, we are hosting events April 29–May 1 and are looking forward to engaging the campus with fun events planned for that weekend. We are looking forward to getting back to the traditional weekend of fun that students are used to. Our biggest fundraiser is the carnation sale on Valentine’s Day in February. There are other fun things planned for January that will be announced soon and will be fun for everyone on campus!”

Student Council is strongly represented on campus and encourages students’ voices to be heard when important decisions are being made. Each class is equally represented. “All roles on Student Council are elected,” explained Gracie. “Each class votes for their representatives and the representatives elect the officers that manage Student Council. Student voices at George School have a lot of influence, more so than other secondary schools. Student leaders on campus are respected by everyone, including their peers, faculty, and staff. Student Council members recently sat down with consultants to discuss security on campus. They brought a lot of ideas with them to the meeting. Sometimes, Student Council is represented at faculty meetings to bring the student perspective to discussions. We also have representatives that sit on the Board of Trustees, which is a great leadership opportunity at the highest level.”

Student Council Mission Statement

Student Council is an organization, consisting of students and faculty, whose primary goal is the betterment of student life at George School. In this capacity, Student Council organizes meetings to discuss student concerns, and on appropriate concerns, takes action to facilitate changes.

While Student Council works principally on student concerns, it is important to note that, as part of the larger George School community, Student Council often collaborates with other campus groups, such as Faculty Meeting, to institute wider-reaching policies.

Through the efforts of the Student Council and the George School community, we seek to continue to make George School a place where the light of all may shine and be minded.

Below are the current Student Council leaders that are shaping the future of George School:

Officers:

Natalie Howlette ’22–President
Namu Makatiani ’22–Vice President
Aarav Hathiramani ’22–Executive Officer
Ankita Achanta ’23–Secretary
Max Forstein ’23–Treasurer
Sydney Pettigrew ’23–Social Media Manager
Gracie Coscia-Collins ’09–Faculty Sponsor

Representatives:

Class of 2022
Alida Amindji
Silas Kennedy
Arshi Nagra
Irion Thompson

Class of 2023
Elizabeth Bugayev
Daniel Park
Chris Petrosky
Franklyn Yadaicela

Class of 2024
Flora Kim
Sophia Mas
Drew Mirarchi
Sejal Patel
Jake Whent

Class of 2025
Olivia Carcich
Noori Nagra
Riley Scoggins
Britney Thompson