Candidate Statement:
Hey Peddie! My name is Olivia Ahn, but most people call me Olive, and I’m a day student from Princeton, New Jersey. I believe the role of Vice President at Peddie requires two important qualities: being able to have fun AND the drive to get stuff done. I have always been a creative person who constantly looks for innovative ways to improve things, and considering the amount of time I’ve spent at Peddie, I have so many ideas, along with the passion to bring them to life.
I think Peddie does a great job of making us feel the extremes of being a student: one night you’re cramming for a test worth half your grade, unable to see the light of day, but another night, you’re screaming your lungs out at the Blair Day Pep rally, with intense clapping and plenty of free food to follow.
However, a negative aspect of this imbalance is that we often dread going back to locking in and doing work after enjoying ourselves. My goal as Vice President is to foster initiatives with the energy and spirit of Blair Week that can simultaneously support you when you’re in your most stressful moments, every day, every week, year-round. Through expanded engagement in community meetings, more advertising of school events, and increased community input, I’m ensuring that your well-being is the most important thing.
Governing student council and the school will take a good portion of your time, what other activities both in and out of school do you plan on participating in? How will you balance them?
I am on the Varsity rowing team and participate in the winter musical, two very different activities that have both taught me a lot about teamwork and time management. Additionally, I am a member of Peddie Chorus, Tour Guides, and a leader of both the Peddie Paper Enthusiasts and Urban Uplift, the sustainable architecture club. I love to stay busy within Peddie, but one particular out-of-school commitment I’ve been involved in for over 10 years now is Girl Scouts, where I’ve learned the importance of service, leadership, and how to convince someone to buy cookies. What stands at the core of my activities is the pursuit of improving the lives of others, whether it’s through a song’s harmony or making cards for residents at Meadow Lakes, and I will continue to serve with this intention as your Vice President.
When adding on the intensity of being responsible for the entire student body, you can ensure that I will go out of my way to serve under any circumstances. I am willing to stay up for a few extra hours and forfeit a DMX or lunch period for something student council related if time is being spent towards improving YOUR Peddie experience.
What qualities do you possess that makes you a good role model and representative that will allow you to be a leader of the entire school?
If I had three words to describe myself, I would say creative, humorous, and easygoing. My creativity fuels me to think outside the box and is the backbone of the ideas I’ve mentioned below. Every year, we get the same suggestions of constant Google forms and ‘more fun community meetings,’ but we can’t stay in our old ways if we want to improve Peddie, so leading the student body with my innovative ideas is essential to creating change. My humorous and easygoing spirit makes me approachable, receptive, and empathetic about any input you may have. While I can be shy sometimes, I love to crack a good joke and engage in small talk, and I care deeply about your unique perspective, as it’s valuable to understanding how I can improve Peddie for you.
What ideas do you have for change and how would you implement these ideas? What would you like to continue?
One initial improvement I would like to make is keeping the Swig side door available for ID usage until 8pm. It sucks to be shivering while trying to scan your ID, only for you to be locked out and having to suffer even more in the cold by walking to the main entrance. Having the role of Vice President will help leverage this cause when talking with administrators and security.
When on the topic of community engagement, I want to increase student participation in Community Meetings, and with that, implement more effective measures of determining a winner for competitions that span across the grades, such as a sound level meter. Even though the Class of 2027 has lost most of our class battles, I won’t be biased when we determine a winner for best dressed or most performative. Since Community Meeting is a required event, I want to make it so that this time block feels memorable and purposeful.
Additionally, I would like to host “Town Hall” events two or three times a term, where students of any grade level sit alongside student life faculty to discuss past school events or any ideas. What separates this initiative from an all-school email with a Google form is that having an in-person meeting allows for real-time feedback from both students and faculty alike, and the community can work together to elaborate on someone’s initial idea. These “Town Hall” meetings would also create more bonding between students and increase community input, which is essential to leading Peddie.
To top it off, I will run Peddie Stuco’s Instagram like my LIFE depends on it, whether I’m mixing in memes or my best Canva skills because I care about promoting school spirit. I did most of the Instagram marketing for “Mamma Mia!” this past term, and Saturday night being a sold-out show can attest to the effectiveness of my advertising skills. I believe that any event, from Blair Day to a 3rds basketball game, is fundamentally enhanced by the presence of people cheering you on. Participating in both the athletics and arts at Peddie has taught me that no matter what department of campus you’re tirelessly working in, you deserve to be supported by an
amazing community.
Overall, I love using my strongest skills towards making Peddie a better place, and I will continuously bring that to the table as your Vice President.
Thank you for reading, and olive viva! 💙💛
