With elections happening right now, here’s an inside look at some of the different students who are looking to lead their grades next year.

Julia Paulman

Class of 2021

  What position are you running for? 

“Advertising manager.”

Why are you running?

“A couple of my friends were on class board this past year, and I thought it would be fun to get involved with the school and work with my peers.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I am passionate about helping others.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“I want to make fundraisers more known.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“My friends are helping me pass out candy, which I am also doing. Additionally, I am putting my campaign on social media.”

What are you involved in?

“I am involved in LEAP into Africa, and I was a part of the Hinsdale Central tennis team.”

Gianna Dugan

Class of 2021

What position are you running for? 

“President.”

Why are you running?

“I love being involved in the Hinsdale Central community.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I am passionate about meeting new people and helping out around the school.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“I want to help advocate for the different fundraisers and ways to raise money for the school so that we can all have more opportunities.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“To strengthen my campaign I have stickers, I am passing out candy, I’m having my friends help pass out candy, and I have posters all around the school.”

What are you involved in?

“I am involved in the tennis team and lacrosse team, and I was on last year’s class board.”

Heather Raslan

Class of 2021

What position are you running for? 

“Secretary.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I’m passionate about getting to know everybody because I feel like once I know everybody, they will trust me more when they see a name that they have heard of on the ballot. That way they’ll want to vote for me and want me to represent them.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“I’m actually working on this right now with the class board which is making more events for our grade level to come together. I feel like outside of basketball games and football games, there aren’t that many school events that take place outside of the building.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“Something that I’m doing to strengthen my campaign is handing out lots of stickers and candy because it’s just a good way to go out and meet new people.”

What’s a fun fact about you?

“A fun fact about me is that I play tennis here at Hinsdale Central and I’m trying to be a peer leader next year.”

Matthew Barnes

Class of 2020

What position are you running for? 

“President.”

Why are you running?

“The reason why I am running is because last year my vice president, Daniel Hepding, and I were going to run, but we decided against it. This year we realized we should just go for it. We believe that we can add a lot to the school also.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I really like Hinsdale Central, and I feel like if I got elected I would really be able to help out the kids at the school. I feel like I can be a good leader at times, and I think I could do a good job at taking over.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“I’d worry about the fundraisers and making them more known. I would want to make it a better experience for everyone. Last year, I didn’t really hear about the fundraisers, and I feel like you had to really search for the information. If I were to be elected, I would want everyone to know about them.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“I made two really good hype trailers. I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say, ‘Hey, good job!’ I was appreciative of that. I’m handing out buttons and candy as well.”

What’s a fun fact about you? 

“I go to Florida every year over the summer.”

Gabrielle Sullivan

Class of 2020

What position are you running for? 

“Treasurer.”

Why are you running?

“I am running because I am really passionate about supporting my class and being a good example for them. I also ran for treasurer in eighth grade, and I didn’t win, so I really want to win this year. I think I would be really good at it, and I want to prove that I can do something to help my class.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I am passionate about representing my class well and making sure they have a great year at Central. I really want to get the opportunity to do that.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“I want to have more activities for the entire grade that people will actually want to participate in and not just things that are just seen as fundraisers. I want to do something that people are so excited about that they’re telling all their friends to get involved. I think that would be a good way to make sure that our class bond becomes stronger.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“Something I am doing to strengthen my campaign is handing out candy. I have a team of 16 people that I’ve had the past two weeks who have passed out candy, buttons, and stickers for me. I am also doing social media promotions. I am trying to be outgoing and go up to everyone and tell them what I’m running for and why they should vote for me.”

What are you involved in?

“I am on the Peer Leadership Board, in LEAP into Africa, and I play tennis.”

Sachin Advani

Class of 2020

What position are you running for? 

“Treasurer.”

Why are you running?

“I am running because I had a similar position with a charity outside of school, and I thought it would be fun to do something like that again. I was also looking to be a leader in the school and hoping that I could help.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I am most passionate about soccer, guitar, and the school as a whole. I want to make the school a better place to go.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“Something I want to change at Hinsdale Central is creating more fundraisers for the students that will be fun and enjoyable. I feel like doing more charity work is always beneficial.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“I am running with another person. His name is Herbert Wang and he is running for secretary. Together, we made a lot of posters, passed out a lot of candy and made fortune cookies that said to vote for us inside of them.”

What are you involved in?

“I play for the soccer team, I am in the jazz band, in Ambassadors and I am also trying to make a ping pong team outside of school.”

Kendall Butler 

Class of 2020

What position are you running for? 

“Advertising manager.”

Why are you running?

“I am running because I believe I am a good leader, and I would like to participate in the leadership board at Central.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I am very passionate about getting to know my peers and getting to know more about Central, as well as getting more involved.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“Something that I want to change at Central is the involvement of students. We have lots of people doing activities, but some people are just not as involved. I think that it’s great for a high schooler to be involved in their school.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“I am passing out candy, spreading the word, putting different posts on social media and creating a hype video for people to look at and try to laugh.”

What are you involved in?

“I am involved in basketball as well as lacrosse.”

Caroline Woodward

Class of 2019

What position are you running for? 

“Secretary.”

Why are you running?

“I am running because the past three years I have always been too scared to run, so this year, I decided I might as well do it for my senior year.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I am passionate about helping others and making Hinsdale Central a stronger community.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“Something I would want to change is making the fundraisers for Central but also outside causes like the Rizzo Foundation and other charities that strengthen Hinsdale as a community rather than just specific classes at Central.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“I am handing out candy and also putting stuff on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.”

What’s a fun fact about you? 

“I have a twin brother who is one minuter older.”

Parker Bailey

Class of 2019

What position are you running for? 

“Treasurer.”

Why are you running?

“I like getting involved in the school, and I like the people who work on student council. Getting involved is really fun.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I really like working with other people and forming those relationships. I also like building bridges because you can learn a lot about the person and the ways the positions interact with one another.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“I’d like to make the fundraisers a little more personal and raise more awareness about them. They do a good job right now, but there is always room for improvement.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“I’m doing some social media stuff, passing out candy, and getting the word out there.”

What are you involved in?

“Currently, I am an Ambassador and am also on the executive board for the club.”

 Emma Dillard

Class of 2019

What position are you running for?

“President.”

Why are you running?

“I am running because I have been on the class board for three years, and want to continue it my senior year. I also like to lead other people, and I’ve had a really fun time doing it so far.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I am passionate about helping others and working with younger kids.”

What is something you want to change at Central?

“I want to make the fundraisers more personal. Sometimes we have a hard time getting the word out, so I’d like to change that.”

What are you doing to strengthen your campaign? 

“In terms of strengthening my campaign, I’m passing out candy, posting stuff on social media, and having my friends say stuff about me.”

What are you involved in?

“I am involved in tennis and class board.”