Student Government President is the highest role in Parker’s robust Student Government. The campaign process for President lasts for over a month and candidates must demonstrate the ability to be a strong leader and share not only their ideas for improving the student body’s experience, but also their plan on how to implement their ideas and achieve their goals. In addition to having concrete ideas of how to better the school, they must also be considerate and open to the opinions and views of other students, and be willing to take suggestions and inspiration from others. Student Body President Samantha Graines checks all of these boxes.

Executive Advisor Daniel Silets works closely with Graines. “Samantha is incredibly professional and ridiculously qualified for the role, she is great at communication, and I know that she will do a great job this year as president,” Silets said.

 As Executive Advisor, Silets serves as a liaison between the President and student body. “I was inspired to apply for the role of Exec after spending a lot of time figuring out what I wanted changed about Student Government through the lens of running for treasurer. After I lost, I started looking at appointed positions that could make a difference,” Silets said. Silets has a goal of “hosting one Town Hall and one Small Groups for each semester.”

  Senior and Director of Committee Affairs (DCA) Rania Jones shares Silets’ enthusiasm for this coming term. “I think Samantha is more than qualified for this position. She’s thoughtful, compassionate, innovative, a natural leader, and commands any room or stage, despite what any of her counter-presidential candidates may say,” Jones said. 

Jones adds to this point, “Most importantly, she genuinely cares, and it’s rare to find someone who just truly wants to better the community for no other reason than to help each other.”

Graines and Jones are not new to working with each other. “In and out of school, we challenge and unconditionally support each other. From being freshman senate reps together, to sophomore cabinet members, to senate heads, to now DCA and President, Samantha and I have been more than compatible in student government since our Freshman year,” Jones said. 

On top of her roles in Student Government, Graines is also involved in many activities, spanning from Model UN to “The Parker Weekly.” 

As a new freshman, Graines swiftly became involved in Student Government. “One of the places where I was very integrated into the community was through Student Government, so it always has sort of a soft spot in my heart,” Graines said. As a younger student, Graines looked up to older kids involved in Student Government. Over the years she watched people who were extremely dedicated to it make real change. “I experienced firsthand how this institution can be so successful,” Graines said. Graines then realized that “one of the most important things was passion,” and she knew she was someone who was passionate about Student Government. 

Graines has genuinely enjoyed every role she’s had in Student Government leading up to her new term as president. “I knew I was able to complete the job in an effective way, with a lot of passion about what I was doing,” Graines said.

One of Graines’ goals is to implement a “Social Justice Initiative,” both in and out of the school. “For us to use our resources to help issues outside of the walls of our school, we can make a bigger difference as students and people,” Graines said. 

Graines is also working to create an announcement system. She is currently working with faculty to put this idea into action and ideally wants to be able to have announcements daily or a few times a week, informing students about current events in the school as well as important events both in and outside of our community. Graines aims to begin these announcements as soon as possible and expects them to be regularly in action before the end of the semester. 

Another goal of Graines is to have Student Government be exciting and fun for every student, no matter how involved they are in it. She thinks that while not everyone enjoys having a large role in Student Government, it is important that for time we spend together in Plenary, everyone’s voice is heard and they are “genuinely interested in the conversation.”