“To lead La Salle, Larissa’s your gal.”

Bonn has served two years on student council already, and has participated in Happy Valley Youth Council, among other activities and extracurriculars. She believes that she possesses the qualities needed to effectively represent the La Salle community. 

“I think it’s really important [to be] not just a leader who can tell people what to do, and outwardly communicate, but also reflect on themselves and show people what to do,” she said. “I think being an example, not just with my words, but with my actions, is essential.”

Bonn also views commitment and adaptability as two of her core principles, and they are key to her leadership style as well. 

“I think that I have a lot of commitments in my life, and I try my best to make all those commitments,” she said. “I think that spills over into my leadership as well, and just being able to be committed to multiple things at once and still doing my best at all those things.”

According to Bonn, she has many inspirations for her pursuit of leadership and her style, including former Student Body President Rapheal de Leon, who she shadowed as a Future Falcon. But she also highlighted the major role that the community served in her development.  

“Every person I’ve met — every interaction I’ve had — has shaped me into who I am,” she said. “I think everyone’s been an inspiration.”  

Next year, she hopes to foster efficiency within the community and student council, and work to make a La Salle that represents its core values at all levels. 

“I think a good leader can make a large impact on their community and can really set the tone for our year.” she said. “And I think it’s important that we have someone that represents the student body, but also is able to … bridge the gap between students and faculty.”

However, she does not want to make false promises about what she can achieve next year. 

“I want to make sure that next year’s group of students is represented for next year, and I’m willing to listen to people’s ideas when they come up, and kind of adapt from there,” she said. “I do want to promise that I will listen, and I will be the best person that I can be on council, but I don’t have any specific promises right now because I don’t want to make ones that may not be realistic.”

“Keep it steady with Kiernan Kelly.”

Captain of the varsity baseball team, a leader on the field as a catcher, and a member of leadership for two years, Kelly believes his passion, confidence, and determination set him apart from other candidates. 

“I lead with confidence,” he said, and he believes he has grown to be able to step back and check himself if he is going too far.  

During his years in leadership positions he thinks he has gained valuable insight into handling unexpected situations, and knows how as Student Body President he would want to evolve his leadership. 

“I would treat it more as a I want to hear what my peers say so that I can take their feedback and try to incorporate it into the school and think about it, and then get in touch with the right … people,” he said. 

According to Kelly, his parents and brother are big inspirations for many of his attitudes, work ethic, and empathy, but he also cites a more specific reason for his candidacy.

Recently he has “learned about how 25% of the school doesn’t feel the same way as others. I love the school, and I’m very involved in it, but some people feel left out,” he said. “So I think my main goal is to help that 25% feel more comfortable, whether it’s getting into clubs or just find a community where they’re thriving.”

Another large motivator for Kelly is religion. 

“One of my main things is I’m a big Catholic,” said Kelly. “I wouldn’t be making other people do it, because if that’s not their religion, that’s cool. But I’d like to just give us, give Catholics more of an opportunity to just receive help.”

Next year, he also wants to embody a positive attitude all throughout his leadership. 

“I also just bring a silly or funny kind of aspect to it, like not everything so serious you can still have fun doing serious stuff,” he said. “I think that’s a main thing too, because everyone gets so tensed up, so I like to bring my kind of like a silly aspect of it because we all work better when we’re not so tense and tight.”

“For every task, trust in Rask.”

Rask was part of the leadership team his freshman year, and he remains very involved in La Salle’s community as a three-sport athlete and a crew member in the theater department. He is a captain of the boys swim team, and he directed one of the theater’s winter one-acts. As a member of the Happy Valley Youth Council, Rask feels that he has a good foundation for leadership next year.

“I feel really glad to help my community and bring awareness to issues and try to help solve some issues,” Rask said, particularly noting the collaborative opportunities he has as a member to meet with other youth councils. During these meetings, they compare and contrast the conditions for youth in their different cities, taking inspiration from each other.

“I’d like to bring something like that to La Salle, where I can compare us to other schools and figure out what issues need to be resolved and what honestly the student body wants,” Rask said.

Rask views the role of Student Body President as a way to better connect administrators and students. As president, he would like to be a more direct, accessible link for communication between students and administration, so that students feel like their voices are heard.

“I know that there’s been many issues regarding many things that the administration can be a little hesitant on,” Rask said. “I would love to be kind of like a bridge between the students and the administration to help bring forward student ideas — to help bring our Lasallian community closer.”

He looks to Director of Community & Student Leadership Ms. Adriana Noesi as a role model in this regard and is happy to work with her next year, whether as Co-Student Body President or a member of the leadership team.

“She’s honestly the closest thing to being an advocate for both students and faculty,” Rask said. “She really listens to what the leadership council has to say, and she tries her best to bring it to the administration to make both sides compatible. I really admire that.”

Though he has struggles with public speaking, Rask feels prepared, as he considers himself a hard worker. He looks forward to the coming school year regardless of the election’s outcome.

“I’m just really excited to start this process,” Rask said. “Even if I don’t make president, I would still love to help our student body as much as possible. I still want to keep those ideas alive.”

“Be brave — vote for Dave!”

If elected Student Body President, Sharyan would make school spirit his first priority. As the sophomore class president of the 2023-24 school year, he helped plan the winter formal — the first one since the pandemic — and promote La Salle’s annual Better Together fundraiser, and next year, he wants to continue that pursuit.

“I’m going to bring a lot more spirit — a lot more fun — because high school is not supposed to be doom and gloom and so much stress,” Sharyan said. “As the student body president, I can’t get you less homework, but I can try to alleviate the stress.”

Sharyan said his leadership style is “uniting,” which he thinks will help him work with students from many different communities.

According to Sharyan, his biggest strength as a leader, leading by example, reflects that, describing himself as someone who tries to bring people together.

“I think a lot of people feel disheartened when they have a boss telling them what to do,” Sharyan said. “That’s just not who I am. That’s not my personality.”

As a member of the Happy Valley Youth Council and former sophomore class president, David has experience with leadership. He describes his role in the Happy Valley Youth Council as “a representative to the city on behalf of the youth,” and he strives to be the same for La Salle students.

“That’s what I hope to bring, if elected as student body president: to be that voice, to be that representative,” Sharyan said.

He looks to Mr. John Huelskamp, president of La Salle, as an exemplary leader and a model community member. This week, Sharyan has been standing in front of the school before classes start and greeting students as they walk in, similarly to Mr. Huelskamp.

“He’s exactly who I want to be a leader like,” Sharyan said. “Being a part of the community — that’s exactly who Mr. Huelskamp is. You’ll see him outside painting a bench. He’ll be fixing something on the wall. He stands out every morning and shakes people’s hands.”

Whether or not he is elected, Sharyan wants to emphasize that his main goal is to advocate for students and support the Lasallian community, no matter who the Co-Student Body Presidents are.