West Bloomfield High School’s student government spends hundreds of hours between their members to keep our school and all of its events running smoothly as well as contributing to the community around it through volunteer work and other such projects. The seniors of the group generally take leadership roles in the club.

Spectrum sat down with the teacher sponsor for Student Government, Ms. Ruggero, to discuss some of the seniors’ roles in the club. “Seniors have been leading the committees. We have 3 of them, Spirit, Involvement, and Community Service and we have senior officers that help lead them.” The Spirit committee leads the school in unifying activities such as the multiple spirit weeks throughout the year where students are encouraged to dress up in accordance with fun themes that the committees lay out beforehand while the Community service committee coordinates the involvement of WBHS student government members in public service activities like food drives, volunteering, etc. We asked Ms. Ruggero what some of these activities were that the seniors have been involved in, “For homecoming we organized a tailgate with all the clubs. We had them all come hang out after the parade, play games, do mixers and stuff like that. Our kids have done a lot of community service, we went to Sunrise assisted living and we gave them potted plants which we decorated. We try to do a lot of school spirit sort of stuff too.” Above all else, the student government club serves to teach students useful skills that will carry outside of the the classroom. Spectrum asked Ms. Ruggero how she thought the experience of being in the club affected her students outside of the classroom, “I think it’s great for learning time management and giving back to their community. Learning what servant leadership means. I think it’s a really positive experience for them.”

Spectrum also got the chance to interview one of the club’s seniors, Nick Basel. When asked what senior activities that the club plans he responded, “We plan the school’s senior activities including prom, graduation, etc”.  Basel has personally, “held multiple fundraisers to raise money for prom and other school events.” He said that his personal favorite experience was building the school’s homecoming floats for the homecoming parade this year. Basel also carries the theme of learning skills that help him outside the classroom, “I’ve learned to connect to multiple and diverse people and be accountable. It’s taught me how to lead in various situations. He says that the seniors also hope to leave, “the legacy of continuing to provide a service to the student body of West Bloomfield.”

As we look back at this past 2013-2014 school year, many of us will connect to some of the events that the student government has helped to plan. Be it homecoming, prom, or even graduation, the student government remains an essential part of the school’s function both as a contributing force to any help the school may need as well as helping our student body in any way they can.