In the midst of a global pandemic and a historic presidential election, could you see yourself making your top priority to improve your school by running for the biggest student-held office? If you can’t, that’s okay — Margaret-Ann Littauer has stepped up to the plate. As a senior here at West Henderson, Littauer is the president of Sheepdog Club, the senior editor of the Westwind Yearbook, and a part of the soccer team, Culture Club, and Freshman Mentors before winning the race for student body president on Oct. 16 for the 2020-21 school year.
“I was super excited when I found out I was elected. I think I cried, too. I was just so happy and excited. When I first came to West in 2017, I always knew that I wanted to be a leader in any way that I could be, but being student body president was always a goal,” Littauer said.
Regarding COVID-19, she says that the pandemic has made it more difficult for her to have more outreach to the student body, including making sure that everyone receives information about things going on at the school. Whereas in normal, non-hybrid school years, students hear about events through announcements, bulletin boards, and hallway chatter, this year is very different. Littauer added that the student council is using social media, teachers, and Google Classroom to help students be aware of activities and events going on, and they hope to create more fun and creative ways to reach out.
“I hope to see more student involvement and a bigger community [at West]. We already have such a strong and united student body, but because we have such a mix of hybrid and virtual students, it’s hard to make sure that everyone is included and involved. My goal is to make sure that virtual students feel included in activities going on at school,” Littauer said.
She says that while it is observably difficult to make sure every student is being reached out to, she wants students to know that they have many people, including herself, at West that are here to support them and are here to help them in any way possible. She added that if anyone ever has a question or concern, to email, text, or DM her on social media, as she is here to help and to be a friend to students and she wants to make sure that every student feels listened to.
With a community that is currently very politically divided in an election year, Littauer made sure to point out that she feels that the West Henderson student body isn’t divided like one might assume.
“We are just physically separated right now but I think that our school is doing a great job with making sure students stay united and receive information about events going on at school. But we are continually looking for better ways to reach out to every student,” Littauer said.
When asked about leadership, she explained that she believes a very valuable quality in a leader is the ability to communicate to create a better environment. She built on that statement by discussing how important it is to be able to communicate with peers, staff members, and the community, and that she hopes that she can create those meaningful relationships with everyone at West.
“I hope that I can leave a legacy of positivity and community here at West. I hope that myself and our student government can come together to create a legacy of community and of serving the student body,” Littauer said.
By: Allison Caskey, Feature Editor
