With big shoes to fill, two 5th formers have been selected to lead next year’s prefect team as Head Prefects: Lizzie Needham ’09 and David Lim ’09. The announcement was made March 31st in an e-mail sent to all sixty-four of the rising prefects.
Lim said, “Being a head prefect is a really important job—all the under-formers will look up to you and you have to be a good example.”
The head prefects were selected by first narrowing down the field of candidates through a nomination process. All of the rising prefects were allowed to nominate as many candidates among themselves as they deemed fit for the job. The deadline for nominations was March 21st.
Billy Rivellini ’09, who will be a prefect in Atwater next year, says, “While deciding who to nominate, I had to ask myself who would be the most trustworthy and responsible and who could best communicate with faculty and other prefects.”
The decision, no doubt, was a tough one. Malik Ben-Salahuddin ’09, who will prefect in Quantrell next year, says, “I was looking for leaders who could be empathetic with both their prefectees as well as their fellow prefects as well as people who have had experience working as a leader, are well liked not only by their form but also by the entire school, and who has the capabilities needed—such as being ethical and hard working.”
After the initial nomination process, the head prefects were chosen by coordinators of the prefect program in conjunction with Dean of Students John Ford.
“The important factors” in choosing next year’s head prefects, according to Mr. Yanelli, a co-director of the prefect program, “were having credibility among peers and faculty, being able to reach out to all types of peers and underformers, showing willingness to bear the burden of living under higher expectations than others—being role models, following the school rules, and having exceptional communication skills.”
Ms. Brenner, the prefect program’s other co-director, added, “Head prefects should be studens who uphold integrity, have moral courage and can stand up and do the right thing in the face of peer pressure.”
Having been chosen, Needham and Lim are required to attend a 16 to 18 day wilderness leadership camp during the summer in the Rocky Mountains at the High Mountain institute in Colorado. This intensive program, called The Leading Edge, will strengthen their embodiment of important leadership qualities like integrity and responsibility.
Head prefects will also undergo the same leadership training that all prefects go through. This entails two orientation programs on April 17th and 30th where current prefects and head prefects will answer questions and share experiences.
Then in September, before school starts, the head prefects will be trained in the Choate Leadership Institute, which is run by Ms. Salot and Ms. Pashley. By the time the process is finished, Needham and Lim will be well equipped with all the skills necessary to successfully take the reins of dorm leadership at Choate.
The responsibilities of the head prefects are substantial, as there are many critical duties that Head Prefects must fulfill. The job description is quite lengthy. Ms. Brenner says, “Essentially, the main jobs of the prefect include helping to organize the prefect program, leading the prefects, attending weekly dinners with me and Mr. Yanelli where we discuss issues on campus, and if a prefect needs guidance, it is the head prefect’s duty to help out—to partly give support, partly counsel, partly enforce, but ultimately be advice givers to the rest of the prefect group.”
From the perspective of a head prefect, it is also vitally important to build strong relationships with all the prefects and crucial to get to know each on a personal basis.
Lizzie Needham, who will prefect in Pitman, says, “One of my most important responsibilities is being a friend to all the prefects and helping them out whenever I can. For me, the really tough part of the job is holding all the prefects to high standards—making sure prefects are doing the right thing, following the school rules and taking good care of their prefectees.”
Cracking down on prefects who aren’t living up to expectations can be really tough—it’s always hard to tell a friend he or she isn’t doing the right thing. David Lim says, “I tend to be very strong with my values and opinions, and I’m not afraid to speak out if someone isn’t doing their part but I also won’t be too harsh or overpowering—it’s important to find the perfect balance.”
Along with the many duties head prefects are responsible for, both Lizzie and David have goals to make dorm life even more fun and add some new activities. David says, “I also have some new ideas: well, I think the reason people don’t always do their best at Choate is because they have a hard time getting used to dorm life, so if we start early and get everyone involved in dorm activities people will hopefully have a lot of fun, make friends and feel more at home.”
Some of his ideas include dorm Frisbee a “nerd bowl” in which three or four students from each dorm compete in a trivia contest, dorm spirit days when each dorm dresses according to a certain theme, dorm music festivals encouraging music groups to perform at dorms in an open mic night setting, and a dorm banner competition.
The many commitments head prefects have can certainly seem overwhelming, especially in the midst of finishing college applications and studying for SATs. Mr. Yanelli, however, is certain that the new head prefects will “exceed all the established expectations and do a tremendous job next year.”
Head prefects Lim and Needham outside Hill House. Photo/David woo ’09
