Mr. President

Mr. President

By: Ben Snyder

What makes a well rounded student? When you think of someone being well rounded do you think of: high grades, athletics, clubs, student government, well liked by their peers. One of if not the most well rounded students at North Quincy High School is Oliver Smith. He is a 2 year captain of the Boys Soccer team, a member of the National Honor Society and an AP student. Oh and he just happens to also be the Senior Class President. Recently, I got to sit down with him and get to know the leader of the Class of 2022.

Let’s start with the basics, Oliver Smith is a seventeen year old Senior here at North Quincy. Before he enrolled in classes at NQHS, he attended Beechwood Knoll Elementary School and Central Middle School. Oliver has 3 pets, 2 cats and a golden retriever. To keep himself busy, he likes to play soccer and ping pong and is involved in clubs at school. Outside of school, he has a passion for photography.

Oliver has not always been the Class President for the class of 2022. In fact, this school year is his 1st year as the Class President. He was elected last spring, defeating the student who had been the President for the past 3 years. When asked why he decided to run for Class President he said, “I felt as though there needed to be change, and I thought that I could make our senior year the best one yet.” His new role is not just another title to him, he highly values his new role at NQHS. Smith says, “Being President of the class means that I must create a good environment for the students and hopefully make their last year at school the best yet.” He knows there is a lot of pressure that comes with being the Class President for the senior class. However, he feels that he is the man for the job because of his ability to lead and make decisions without hesitation. He plans on working with the student council, which has been working cohesively as a unit very well to put together a bunch of social events to try and regain some of the time lost due to the Coronavirus.

A man of the people, Oliver values the student body very much and he said of his relationship with his classmates, “ I believe that I know everyone of those students personally. I consider all of them my friends.” That was one of the big reasons why he was elected as the President because of his promise to value and listen to all the opinions of his fellow classmates. Having school spirit is usually an important characteristic of being the Class President. Recently, I was at a volleyball game with Oliver and our teammates on the football and soccer teams respectively. Oliver was the team’s biggest fan. Not only was he cheering for the team as a whole but he would cheer for individual players because he knew them all by name. This really impressed me because it shows what a great and friendly person Oliver is and how much his classmates mean to him.

Smith is not your ordinary class president. As I talked about earlier, he has been a member of the Varsity Soccer team for all four years and has been one of the captains of the Raiders since his junior year. He knows that being an AP student-athlete can be a juggling act. To combat the busy schedule he balances all his commitments by having an organized schedule to fit everything in. He knows it is not always easy, Smith says, “To be honest at times the time management is tough and I’ve had to pull a couple late nights but in the end I always get things done.” He is a true student athlete and he works just as hard in the classroom as he does on the field.

To end our interview I asked Oliver if there is anything he would like to say to his peers in the Class of 2022 and Oliver said, “Let’s enjoy our senior year to the fullest!”

Oliver Smith is the ideal senior class president. He is a very nice and caring person who values the student body. He is a well rounded person, being an AP student, varsity captain and a member of the National Honor Society. I enjoyed interviewing him and I am excited for everyone to meet the President of the excellent senior class at North Quincy High School.