Introducing the 2021 Student Council Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates

As midterms for the first semester quickly approach, R.H. King is preparing to vote for a couple of hard-working, ambitious students to lead the student body. 

The King Student Council elections are scheduled for Monday, November 8, 2021, but who are the candidates? What do they stand for? And how will they work to make R.H. King a better place? This article will provide a comprehensive guide for the students of R.H. King on the candidates for Student Council President and Vice President.

01.   Presidential Candidates

Arvinraj Nimalraj

Arvinraj Nimalraj, better known as Arvin, is a grade twelve student and candidate for Student Council President of R.H. King Academy who has served as his grade’s representative in both grade nine (2018-2019) and grade eleven (2020-2021). He describes himself as an “energetic, empathetic, entertaining, enthusiastic, and respectable” individual.

Arvin’s all-time favourite KSC event occurred in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic when he was a grade nine student. The memorable 12 Days of Holidays event was undoubtedly a great way to raise school spirit and funds for school events through Krispy Kreme sales, cookie decorating, and more. 

Given all that the school community has been through over the past few years, Arvin is determined to focus on the present moment. When asked what he hopes to accomplish as Student Council President, Arvin states, “If I win I hope to achieve a year that everyone can look back on and have no regrets. I want to live this year to the fullest with the entire student body.”

Being able to take on this leadership position within R.H. King has been a longtime goal for Arvin. He recalls “wanting to be KSC President before stepping into the school back in the summer of eighth grade.” However, the main reason Arvin wants to run is the impact that he feels he can make on behalf of the student body. When describing his reasoning for pursuing this opportunity, he states, “It’s just something I’ve always looked forward to doing… The joy and thrill it brings me to put smiles on people’s faces and make them laugh are just extraordinary.”

Nikolos Zegas-Tepper

Nikolos Zegas-Tepper is a self-proclaimed “hard-working, responsible, outgoing, open-minded, and experienced” grade twelve student who aims to be the next Student Council President of R.H. King Academy. Zegas-Tepper has been on KSC since 2018, serving as grade ten rep during the 2019-2020 school year and grade eleven rep from 2020-2021. 

Reflecting on his time as a grade representative, Zegas-Tepper’s proudest moment was helping organize the semi-formal in grade ten prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. On his experience, Zegas Tepper states: “It was really stressful but seeing it come together, and seeing people having fun was worth it.”

If elected, Zegas-Tepper is prepared to “push for more not-online events.” Zegas-Tepper is fully aware of the negative impacts the pandemic has had on students’ mental health and “[wants] to try and run as many events in person as possible since we haven’t gotten to do anything in the school the last year and a half.” Zegas-Tepper also went on to promise to run a semi-formal later in the year if COVID restrictions light up, and it is deemed safe enough by the school and Toronto Public Health. 

Zegas-Tepper hopes to be elected as Student Council President because he enjoys taking on leadership roles and has had “fantastic” experiences working with KSC and the student body thus far. Zegas-Tepper believes he can take on the challenge of Student Council President, stating: “President is a role I know I can fill properly, and a role I want to take on.”

02.   Vice Presidential Candidates

Micah Casinader

One of the two candidates for Vice President this year is grade eleven R.H. King student, Micah Casinader. 

He describes himself as “sociable, friendly, dependable, loyal and helpful,” and his eagerness to improve the student body shows through his enthusiasm about school events. Casinader states, “I enjoyed organizing the grade 9 day to welcome them. I also enjoyed being part of the 12 days of Christmas initiative that the student council organized because we were really able to engage the student body.” 

Casinader hopes to achieve the goal of “engaging the student body by organizing events to boost school spirit… especially after the tough couple of years we had.” Students need school spirit more than ever, especially following the aftermath of the pandemic, and so Casinader hopes to engage all students throughout this odd school year.

With all his experience, Casinader believes he can deliver the skills needed for the school to be at its best. He states, “I have seen as a grade 10 rep what the council accomplishes and want to be an exec to be part of the team that steers the council in the right direction.”

Sameer Amer

After a year on KSC as a secretary, Sameer Amer, a grade twelve R.H. King student, brings his ambition forward to run for this year’s Vice President position.

He describes himself as “a leader capable of adapting,” and explains how capable he would be as Vice President. “As the next vice-president, my main goal is to fuel the spirit of our students,” Amer continues, “I would like to be one of the student leaders that heavily impacts our student spirit!” 

Amer did his best to improve online activities, since that was the only option there was last year. As for some of his favourite online events, he states, “Out of all the events we organized last year, my favourites definitely include the KSC takeovers, the Discord game nights, as well as the grade nine activity workshops!” Even after all the uncertainty of last year, Amer still decided to make the most of it.

With a year of experience on KSC, Amer feels that he is most suitable for Vice President, as he “proved to be a very consistent member that can follow through with all of their responsibilities, and KSC deserves a vice-president with such capabilities. If I am successful in the elections, it will be of great benefit to KSC!”

No matter whom you vote for, remember that there is no wrong decision. All of the candidates are exceptional students who are dedicated to making the school a better place for all students. Remember to vote for your student body leaders on Monday, November 8.