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Students and staff gathered in the gym on Friday, April 11 for an assembly focused on the Zach Davidson award, Co-Student Body President elections, and La Salle’s immersion trips.
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Seniors and current Co-Student Body Presidents Rylan De Souza (pictured) and Avari Brocker helped facilitate the assembly, introducing each speaker.
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Junior Larissa Bonn was the first candidate to come to the podium, delivering her speech. She explained the impact that the Lasallian community has had on her and expressed her desire to return that positive influence next year.
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Sophomore Ryan Lengkeek spoke about his experience on the L’Arche immersion in Tacoma, Washington.
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Junior Kiernan Kelly was the second Student Body President candidate to speak.
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Senior Lindsey Kapanoske highlighted the Blackfeet immersion, speaking about how she was able to connect with the kids through music as she taught them to play guitar.
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Juniors Alex Sale and Gabrielle Jones shared their experience on El Otro Lado, emphasizing the significance of students getting their own experience with the topic of the border and immigration.
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Junior John Rask Jr. delivered an energetic campaign speech in which he spoke about his community involvement, ending with an enthusiastic “Go Falcons!”
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Junior David Sharyan was the last candidate to share his campaign speech, highlighting his passion for leadership and commitment to change at La Salle.
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Junior Leah Simon, the last student to speak, spoke about her time on the Yakama immersion, where students can learn more about the environment and the lived experience of the Indigenous people there.
With forecasting finished and AP exams fast approaching, students and staff alike are entering the home stretch of the 2024-25 school year.
Preparations for next year have already begun, notably with the school wide assembly on Friday, April 11. It covered the decision of who will be La Salle’s next Co-Student Body Presidents, advertising for various immersion trips the school offers, and information about the Zach Davidson award.
Seniors Avari Brocker and Rylan De Souza, the current Co-Student Body Presidents, took turns introducing the four candidates as they rose to the podium for their speeches: juniors Larissa Bonn, Kiernan Kelly, John Rask Jr., and David Sharyan. They delivered energetic speeches which highlighted aspects of La Salle such as community, service, and school spirit.
Between candidates, students spoke about their experiences on each of La Salle’s immersion trips.
La Salle offers many of them, all focused on service, but each providing different insights: on the L’Arche immersion, students support adults with developmental disabilities; the Blackfeet immersion takes students to the Blackfeet reservation, where they work with the kids there in schools; El Otro Lado travels to the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, where students get to learn about the immigrant experience; and on the Yakama immersion, students learn from Native Americans on the Yakama reservation about their lives and their work in aquatic life and research.
Though each trip is unique, each speaker pushed the same core message: that the journey was eye-opening, unforgettable, and undoubtedly Lasallian, not to mention plenty of fun. They urged any and all students with the means to do so to sign up for one or more of them.
Closing out the assembly, Ms. Kenzie D’Ambrosio, the dean of students, spoke about the annual Zach Davidson award, given to two current seniors based on a vote from their peers. The award is in memory of Zach Davidson, a former La Salle student who died of cancer shortly after graduating. The honor is given to one boy and one girl who exemplify the spirit of Davidson, being a “big brother or big sister” to La Salle.
Students filed back to their homerooms, and voting for both the Zach Davidson award and the Student Body Presidents opened to students grades 9-11. While the winner of the former will be decided later on, at the end of the day, the Co-Student Body Presidents for the 2025-26 school year were revealed to be Bonn and Rask.
Each president-elect expressed feelings of excitement for the upcoming year, already beginning to brainstorm ways they can improve life for students at La Salle. This week, alongside Director of Community & Student Leadership Ms. Adriana Noesi, they began interviewing students for the various officer positions of next year’s executive student council.
“I feel great … all four of these kids are amazing,” Ms. Noesi said. “I told the two kids who didn’t win that I really want them to apply for executive council, [and] they did.”
It’s a prerequisite for a Student Body President to have served on the leadership team for at least one year, and many of the other leadership students have been in the class for multiple semesters already. As the leadership advisor, Ms. Noesi feels that she is in an unusual, but special position for a teacher, where she gets to watch many of her students develop as people over the years.
“I love those kids,” Ms. Noesi said. “The amount of growth that they have shown and demonstrated is enormous … and so yes, I got a little emotional talking to them. I’m proud of all of them.”
Outside of school, Bonn and Rask already have experience working together on the Happy Valley Youth Council, which they think gives them a good start for the upcoming year.
“I feel we will make a great team,” Rask said, of Bonn. “She and I both have some ideas, and I want to make them reality. We will balance each other well.”
Though both experienced some anxiety leading up to the speeches and eventual result, Bonn and Rask both find themselves with a strong sense of optimism about the upcoming year.
“I’m excited to be on student council,” Bonn said. “Excited to work with other leaders in our school, to bring more spirit, and to make sure we’re super organized. [It’s] going to be a super fun year.”
Chris Babinec • Apr 17, 2025 at 12:16 pm
Great recap of the assembly. I was particularly touched by students sharing their immersion experiences and encouraging other students to attend. Thank you for including links and details about those opportunities!