Fellow Prefects Choose New Heads Bashian, Cabot to Assume Lead Roles Next Year
By Asa Maynard ’10
News Staff Reporter
As Spring Term gets into full swing, the role of next year’s prefects begins. Prefects were notified of their acceptance into the program in late March after a grueling application process, and, after much deliberation, Jen Bashian ’08 and Samuel Cabot ’08 were selected as Head Prefects for the 2007-2008 school year. This decision was announced to the accepted prefects and involved faculty members on March 28th. Bashian and Cabot will follow in the footsteps of current Head Prefects Corey Sherman ’07 and Brit’nee Haskins ‘07.
To become a prefect, interested students fill out an application. Simultaneously, each student needs a recommendation from their adviser. Ms. Emily Brenner and Mr. Jim Yanelli oversee the prefect program together, appointing prefects in the Spring and aiding them throughout the following year. Dean of Students Ms. Amy Salot also plays a vital role in the process.
Post March deliberation, the selected students were notified via email. In a follow-up email, Ms. Salot asked each new prefect if he or she would consider accepting the role of Head Prefect. She also asked each to nominate as many of their fellow prefects as they wished for the position. The number of nominations was unusually large this year; Ms. Salot commented, “We had a great group that’s highly respected by their peers.”
Next, Ms. Salot, Ms. Brenner, and Mr. Yanelli sat down with the current Head Prefects and the deans of the most nominated students (usually around 2 or 3 of each gender) in order to decide who would be best for the job. “Our decision is based on what we perceive as their leadership skills, time commitments, and their ability to be a role model and leader for the group of prefects. This is a very different position from just being a prefect,” explains Ms. Salot.
Obligations and Duties
While the faculty team doesn’t look for a “cookie-cutter” Head Prefect, there are certain traits that a candidate must possess to succeed in the roll. A Head Prefect must be confident—someone who will stand up in front of the other 65 prefects and give a speech. They must be able to face the responsibility of confronting a prefect who is falling short in responsibilities, as well as meeting with faculty members to discuss the prefects in their dorm. Ms. Salot elaborated, “It’s a position that demands a dynamic and outgoing individual—an individual who’s comfortable in front of a crowd.”
As Brit’nee Haskins and Corey Sherman have worked to demonstrate, each Head Prefect must be multitalented, acting as a role model for peers and fellow prefects; serving as a liaison between the coordinators of the Prefect Program and the prefects themselves; meeting regularly with Yanelli, Brenner, and Salot in addition to the entire prefect group; and assisting in the selection process of rising prefects. Bashian and Cabot will have to take on all these responsibilities, as well as some more fun ones: they devise social activities for prefects, such as the annual dress code fashion show traditionally led by the Head Prefects at one of the early all-school meetings.
Because Head Prefects have obligations to their specific dorms as well as to the entire prefect and House Adviser group, they hold much more responsibility than regular prefects. It is their job to make sure that everyone in the prefect system is doing the best they can. Current Head Prefect Corey Sherman says, “I see the position of Head Prefectship as really an overseer of the program. Someone who isn’t necessarily the best prefect or a more qualified prefect, but more of a ‘First Among Equals’ thing. You’re the guardian of the program.”
Head Prefect Training
Bashian and Cabot will begin preparing for their new leadership positions this term, but the process will continue throughout the summer. All the newly appointed prefects will attend two meetings this term, at which Cabot will stand up to address the group, and they will continue to meet with Ms. Salot, Ms. Brenner, and Mr. Yanelli on a regular basis. Bashian, currently on term abroad in Spain, cannot participate in much of her immediate training, but is filled in consistently through emails.
As for summer preparations, the two rising Head Prefects are required to attend the High Mountain Institute (HMI) Cutting Edge program in Colorado. At this program they will hopefully improve their leadership skills by hiking on a route through the mountain forests, with a different student appointed as “leader” every day as the group travels to its next destination. The program only comprises about eight students. Choate started working with HMI, which is run by the sister of a Choate alumna, a few years ago. Current Head Prefect Haskins found the program extremely helpful in developing strong leadership qualities, and fondly recalled, “I loved it! I have never been so emotionally and physically worked as that!”
Reflecting on the Position
Haskins and Sherman have unanimously agreed that their time as Head prefects was very valuable. Sherman said “You get out of it what you put into it, as I think it is with anything at Choate. The aspect I took with the Head Prefect position was trying to insure that the prefect program would maintain its integrity… that it wouldn’t be looked upon as some worthless office. We really worked hard at that, and I think we really achieved…. I think that was the most important aspect to me.”
Brit’nee Haskins found her relationships, with both faculty and students, to be among the most positive aspects. “Being a Choatie you have that connection with faculty and that special bond, but being Head Prefect…you can talk to them on more of a business level. It’s more like ‘Now listen, this is what we need to get done,’ as opposed to ‘I need help.’” Additionally, she was able to open her social spectrum to students she wouldn’t normally interact with: “Being Head prefect really expanded the people I communicate with… I got to know more senior prefects, and also the younger freshman prefectees.”
Embracing the New Leadership
Bashian and Cabot had similar reasons for wanting prefectship. Cabot explained, “I love the fact that prefects are held in the highest esteem… A prefect’s word is respected by all, including faculty.” Cabot also described his desire to “give back to the community. I want to be a role-model for the younger kids trying to find their place at Choate.”
Bashian also noted, “To me, Choate prefects hold one of the most important positions of leadership on campus. There are days that I would not have survived without a prefect there. A prefect is a friend and leader simultaneously…. I wanted to be able to support new prefectees, just as I was supported by former prefects.”
This new Head Prefect duo is extremely excited to fulfill their positions next year. “I am still in shock! Finding out that I was a Nichols prefect was huge, but it still hasn’t registered that the Head Prefect is actually me. I am most looking forward to being a part of the ensemble of leadership the prefect program will instill,” said Bashian enthusiastically. Cabot expressed equal excitement: “I’m looking forward to this huge opportunity for leadership. I’ve never quite had something like this thrust upon me before; it’s a huge responsibility. But all in all, I look forward to taking the Head prefect role in full stride.”
