This year marked the 38th annual Massachusetts Association of Student Councils (MASC) State Conference – a conference regularly attended each year by Walpole Student Council Advisor Kerry McMenimen and twenty of her Student Council officers in Hyannis each March. This year, as in years past, Walpole Student Council garnered success in their work, achieving the status of Gold Council of Excellence for the third year in a row, based on their cumulative “Binder of Excellence” that is graded by the State Executive Board. In addition to the announcement of Excellence awards, each year at MASC, a new Executive Board is elected. Last week, for the first time in school history, Walpole High School sent a student – junior Stina Cofsky – to the state podium, where she was elected to the office of 2015-2016 MASC State Secretary.
In Kerry McMenimen’s eight total years as Walpole Student Council adviser, she can note the remarkable growth and expansion of her council. Just a few years ago, Walpole StuCo was not a name to receive national, state, or even regional recognition – that has since changed. Two years ago, Walpole Student Council attended their first national conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Four students, now current seniors, Annie Gallivan, Lucy Lynch, Mary Hinton, and Kody McCann attended the event with McMenimen. At this conference, they learned of their recognition as a National Council of Excellence, an award only given to a handful of high schools in the United States. Here, also, Kody McCann befriended Southeastern Massachusetts Association of Student Councils (SEMASC) Executive Director Linda Francis, who urged him to run for SEMASC office in his junior year. While McCann was unsuccessful in his two campaigns for SEMASC President and Vice President, he was the first to run for a position outside of Walpole’s council. His runs and Walpole’s awards of Excellence from the state and national level laid the foundation for Walpole’s next campaign.
When current junior and Student Council assistant Secretary Stina Cofsky attended last summer’s National Student Council conference in Florida with McMenimen and fourteen other Walpole StuCo members, she realized her goal of running for Massachusetts State Secretary. After seeing motivational speakers and leaders in Orlando, Cofsky thought, “I’m just going to go for it because I love Student Council and no one in Walpole has ever done this before.” The Nationals Conference became one of the best experiences of Stina Cofsky’s life – the enthusiasm and individuality of each student she met from around the country drove her to want the experience of Student Council on a more enriching level.
Thus, earlier this year, Stina Cofsky began her campaign on the platform of trying to create a better school culture by reducing negativity. In addition to her “Stina For Secretary” Twitter account, poster, buttons, and stickers, she had the daunting task of writing a speech to read to hundreds of Massachusetts students. Following her speech at MASC, Cofsky was informed that she was one of two finalists – out of five total candidates – for the position of Secretary. And after the re-voting between Cofsky and the other finalist, Justin Petrie of Tewksbury Memorial High School, she was announced as the new MASC State Secretary on Friday, March 13th at the Hyannis Resort and Conference Center.
Even with the support from Walpole Student Council and student council friends from other towns, Cofsky was stunned and thrilled to hear her name announced as the new State Secretary. “When I took my SAT’s the next day, I found myself drifting off so many times because I kept thinking about how happy I was to have been elected,” said Cofsky. Her win stands as a huge accomplishment for Walpole Student Council itself and for Cofsky. Earning this position was important to her as Student Council has taught her to embrace individuality and positivity, like her campaign platform, which is definitely something she wants to embody when she begins her term as MASC Secretary this summer. Her advisor is especially proud of this accomplishment. “Stina’s campaign proves the importance of fostering leadership in our schools. Kids want to be leaders and to have their opinions heard. Stina’s election shows how our community has many great leaders and a bright future,” said McMenimen.
