Who: Cadence Rodriguez, Student Council president and Leo Club Senator.

Why did you decide to become Student Council President?

“I decided to become Student Council president because I thoroughly enjoyed being a member and officer for Student Council and the things that I’ve learned by being in Student Council. I struggled a lot in my freshman year with a couple of different things, especially COVID. Coming back to school was really overwhelming since I was jumping right into “real” high school after missing my freshman year. I went through some other things but at the same time I was I had also become elected as an officer for Student Council and it changed my perspective completely and helped me build relationships with a lot of people. I enjoy watching Gabe and Isabelle, our president and vice president last year, plan all of these things out for the school and knew it was something I wanted to also participate and do good in. I wanted to be able plan things out to create a better and more caring environment for our school post-covid and be able to create more opportunities to understand other students’ feelings about school and hopefully help improve their participation and feelings on school.”

What do you do outside of school to better yourself and your community?

“Outside of school, I try to participate in volunteering opportunities, which are mainly connected through our Leo Club. I’ve volunteered at an animal shelter and helped run Angel Tree at our school. I used to help out with the concession stands at football games, and l’ve helped out at my grandmother’s nursing home. Our Student Council just finished our food drive to donate to local shelters, and we participate in a Woman’s Shelter drive annually. Something I’ve focused more on lately is learning how to let myself rest when I need to. I used to often really overwork myself with the clubs, and classes, and my job, and my friends and family and it drains you a lot. So, yeah things do often get overwhelming, but putting yourself at risk and prioritizing those things over yourself just burns you out and will result in you being your worst enemy. You have to treat yourself just as important as those activities in order to be the best version of yourself, consequently creating the best environment for everyone around you.”

How is the atmosphere for the students in student council?

“The atmosphere in Student Council for students this year seems kind of chaotic. Hopefully very welcoming but also chaotic. At the beginning of our meetings, things are pretty busy with a lot of socializing and it takes a minute to calm things down. We haven’t gone on our winter retreat yet, it’s going to be the weekend we return from break, but I loved going on the retreat and I feel like it bonded our council together more last year. It’s a lot closer and secluded outside of school and we really get more time together to talk along with a lot of activities for us to do together to increase these relationships. I’m hoping it has the same effect this year because our only real separation is the different grade levels and I do think that somewhat separates the students so I think that’s really all we need to bring everyone together completely.”

What does a senator do in Leo Club?

“Normally, a senator in Leo Club is an underclassman. The position was made to sort of train them to become a higher position officer for leading years. This year, I did not run for Leo Club Vice President, as intended, but later decided I did want to be involved again as an officer so I stepped in as a senator. Most of what I have done is help the other officers with things to do and the president, Austin, on little things he wasn’t sure of as this is his first year ever being an officer and he’s done a great job this year getting things done for Leo Club. So, my position is mainly just an extra helping hand.”

What helps you thrive at school and home?

“What helps me thrive at school, is making sure I have all of the supplies I need daily, like my phone, water bottle, snacks, pens, and laptop. I use sticky notes a lot and tape them all over my laptop with things I need to do so I’ll always see the reminders. I also try to drink coffee before school to help me be more attentive during classes, I’m not sure if caffeine really works for me but I like to believe it does. I try to finish my assignments in class before moving on to other things like socializing so I don’t end up with a lot of homework. At home, I try to keep my areas clean, as hard as it is. I do occasionally leave a lot of clutter when I’m going from place-to-place and thing-to-thing, but it’s really relaxing to come home especially late after work when all I want to do is sleep and my room is cleaned and my homework is done. I normally have everything that I will need for my next school day ready the night before so I’m not all over the place the next morning and can have a better school day. I like to send out any emails or announcements for student council before I go to sleep or else I’ll stress myself out over it and have trouble sleeping, so I definitely try to do things as soon as they come to mind or make a note at home to not forget so I don’t stress myself out. I also have very supportive and helpful family members, friends, teachers, advisors, and my boyfriend. They all help me whenever I need it and are there for me when I need to take off days or fall back for a minute to breathe. In short terms, what helps me thrive in and out of school is a lot of preparation and cleanliness.”

What are your electives that you focus heavily on and enjoy?

“I used to be a culinary student, because I love to bake and I absolutely loved my teacher, Chef Z. She is one of the teachers I’ll leave high school knowing she was one of the most supportive and real teachers I had. I focused a lot on culinary arts, and I even passed my food managers certification with the highest grade in my class, but I chose not to take the class this year due to some personal reasons, but I still do a lot of cooking and baking outside of school using a lot of the things I had learned over the years I’d spent taking classes on it. I’m also a very creative and artistic person, so I’m taking advanced floral design this year. I really enjoy putting floral arrangements together and I learned a lot from Mrs. Camp, last year’s floral teacher, and look forward to learning more from Mrs.Daniels this year. The class has helped me in many ways and I’ve been able to make tons of arrangements out of school with the things I learned from it. I planned on playing high school soccer in eighth grade, but plans were obviously derailed (mainly due to COVID and me not being able to attend school – therefore not play sports, and a little mishap with my personal health) BUT, I wouldn’t have things any other way and I’m super happy with the way they currently are and I’m so extremely thankful for all the opportunities I’ve been handed and the way my life has drastically changed from what I’d thought I’d wanted in middle school.”