BY SHIRA KIPNEES ’15
Staff Writer

Members of the classes of 2013, 2014, and 2015 elected their class presidents for the upcoming 2012-2013 school year in the Steinman College Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 17.

Amanda Loh ’13 was elected senior class president, replacing Andrew Masterleo ’13, who is currently the vice president of Diplomatic Congress. Ian Irlander ’14 was elected junior class president, replacing Evan Tooker ’14. Mark T Harmon-Vaught was again elected class president for the class of 2015 after being elected first-year class president in the fall semester of 2011.

Each class president hopes to be able to bring his or her class closer together through his or her service on Diplomatic Congress.

“I plan on utilizing my caucus members to glean answers from the class of 2013 so I can be an effective voice on the Diplomatic Congress,” Loh said. “I’ve served on the Congress for the past two years as chair of Weis College House, so I am familiar with reaching out to students to be the best representative possible.”

Loh also noted she stepped down as chair of Weis House Sunday, April 22 after two years of service. She is also on the Executive Board of Alpha Phi Sorority and was its director of philanthropy last year. In addition, she is also the incoming president of the Black Pyramid Senior Honor Society.

Loh’s main goals include enhancing the experience of the class of 2013 both during their senior year and post-graduation.

“I want seniors to have a memorable time through fun social events, as well as gain the skills and tools necessary for post-grad life,” Loh said. “I’d like to host fun, different senior nights and work with Beth Throne to develop networking events.”

Irlander noted the importance of advocacy in his new position.

“I plan to represent my class in the Diplomatic Congress by making sure that the concerns of the junior class, such as housing and studying abroad, are heard and addressed,” Irlander said. “I would like to do this by creating a centralized forum for discussion on what the junior class wants to change and by being the advocate for those changes in Diplomatic Congress.”

Irlander also believes his previous experiences will help him in his new role as junior class president.

“A large role of a class president is planning events for the class,” Irlander said. “My experiences both on Ware Parliament and the Ware Sustainability Committee have given me experience in planning and running large events. My main goal as class president is to establish a sense of cohesion within the class of 2014. I want to do this by having a minimum of two ‘junior nights’ each semester, so that we can all hang out as a class.”

Harmon-Vaught looks forward to the prospects of a great sophomore year for the entire class, as he continues his role in representing them as president.

“I am excited and humbled by the opportunity to continue my service as president of the class of 2015 next year,” Harmon-Vaught said. “Thank you to everyone who supported me.”

Harmon-Vaught’s excitement about being elected is also shared by Loh and Irlander.

“I am thrilled and extremely humbled,” Loh said. “If you had asked me freshman year where I’d end up in four years, my answer never would have been class president. I never saw myself taking a leadership role at school, but the College Houses really fostered my learning process and gave me the experiences I needed to step up to this position.”

“I want to wish congratulations to Mark and Amanda,” Irlander added. “I’m excited to work with them.”

Questions? Email Shira at shira.kipnees@fandm.edu.

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