9th Grade Leadership Roles at Bryn Mawr

By: Genevieve F. ‘28

As high school begins, Bryn Mawr’s freshmen have an opportunity to impact the school community  by running for leadership positions awarded by election. Bryn Mawr encourages students to cultivate leadership skills early on by allowing them to run for these roles among their peers . Ninth graders can campaign for positions on the Student Government Association (SGA), Community Service Learning(CSL), Arts Council, Athletics Association, Community Advocacy for Equity(CAFE), or Environmental Coalition (ECo). The elected representatives will lead their grade in the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.  

In an interview with Sapna Gupta, 9th-grade president and SGA representative, she shared her goals as president: leading with inclusivity and kindness. Sapna Gupta is part of the Student Government Association at Bryn Mawr as the 9th grade president, along with Tegan Bradley and Viv Balsam, the vice president and secretary treasurer. The Student Government Association is responsible for leading their grade and ensuring that everyone’s opinions in their grade are heard. Since high school can be a large transition for students, Sapna is very passionate about making sure everyone in the 9th grade feels included. She notes, “SGA helps improve this sisterhood that we have built in Bryn Mawr, and I am so thankful to be a part of that experience.” 

In an interview with Ally Mantel, a  CSL representative alongside Maddie Naveleza,  Mantel shared the impacts of community service to Bryn Mawr and beyond. CSL stands for Community Service Learning, which is a program at Bryn Mawr that allows students to raise money for several communities in need throughout the world. CSL meets every Tuesday when they can discuss their plans. As Ally Mantel was choosing to run for a leadership position, she looked back on her success at her old school as the class vice president. Ally shared that CSL is significant because she feels Bryn Mawr’s resources can help those less fortunate. CSL runs fundraising events throughout the year, and recently at the Bryn Mawr’s fall festival, hosted a bake sale where the profits went to The Red Cross for hurricane relief. Ally stated, “I think it's very important that we help other people with what we have.” 

Brooke Brotman, an Arts Council representative with Abby Matino,  shared how she wanted to positively impact the arts community at Bryn Mawr. Brotman’s passion for becoming an Arts Council representative stems from her love for the arts and her desire  to share it with her fellow students. Arts council representatives make sure that the arts community is a comfortable space for students to express themselves while planning exciting events like the seasonal Bryn Mawr coffee houses. In the coffee houses, tri-school students can perform a piece of art for a supportive audience. Brotman shared that being a member of the Arts Council means “making a safe art community where everybody can feel loved and appreciated in their artistic talents.”

​​Those who are representing their grade through leadership roles will now have the opportunity to make meaningful changes and to help give a voice to their class. Working together with open-mindedness and respect for one another, all 9th graders can support each other and become active participants in making this school year a successful one.