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Class of 2023 President: Alyssa Gillies

Students dream to be class president and to have their ideas heard and appreciated, however, Alyssa Gillies made that dream a reality. Alyssa Gillies is not only a sophomore at Woodland Regional Highschool, but is also the two-time elected president of the Class of 2023.

Gillies isn’t a natural born leader, but her determination to allow everyone to feel comfortable and listened to, pushes her to be the leader she thinks everyone should have in their school. In her journey, Gillies realized how important it is for students to have a friend in a leader position. Gillies describes herself as a social butterfly. She makes it a point to find a friend in every class she has in order to hear their observations and opinions.

“I want to help out my class and make sure everyone is seen and heard; and [make sure] we have fun events that everyone will enjoy,” said Gillies.

All her life, Gillies has pushed herself to be the best student she could be. From being a T.A.G.S. (Talented and Gifted) student in middle school, to being in Honors classes in high school, Gillies has blown all expectations out of the water with her ability to go above and beyond in her classes. Gillies’ drive to push herself to be the best student she could be has been an influencing factor in her want to run for president.

A more prominent factor that pushed Gillies to run for president and wish to continue to run for president, was her high expectations for herself. While Gillies has been able to achieve her academic goals, she also has high social goals and standards for herself. Gillies does not want social media to control her life, and she believes that being a part of clubs and activities, like class president, will fill her time and not leave her reaching for her phone.

Despite running for president unopposed her freshman year of high school, Alyssa ran against two other students her sophomore year. Gillies recalls her experience running for president during her freshman year as undemanding due to the lack of opponents. However, her experience running for president during her sophomore year left her wound up and overanxious.

““When I [had other candidates] working against me, [I had] a lot of fear and stress about whether or not my campaign was going to be better, worse, or just as good [as my opponents.]”

Nevertheless, Gillies recalls that her stress alleviated after it was announced that she won the 2020-2021 elections. 

“When I found out that [I won this year’s election],” said Gillies. “I was relieved to find out that my classmates chose me as their president.”

Gillies and the other class officers have a lot in store for the 2020-2021 school year, here is a message from Gillies, directed towards the Class of 2023: “Class of 2023, I am so excited to get to work with you this year. We didn’t get to hold our fundraiser and class event last year due to COVID-19, which made last year seem a little bland. But, the officers and I have been thinking hard about ways we can make this year the most enjoyable possible. We have good ideas for merchandise, ways to keep up class spirit, and events we can hold. I can not wait to see this year unravel with you guys. You’re doing amazing so far. Keep pushing.”

Gianna Costanzo

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