As of June Spanish teacher, Mr. Jesse Armas will be the new activities director. Armas outlines his goals and visions for the upcoming school year as well as new ideas for next year’s leadership class. While he doesn’t have a definitive timeline, Armas plans to have next year’s leadership class list posted by April 27. To read more about the story about the transition between activities director’s read this post. https://www.whitneyupdate.com/14204/news/armas-to-replace-mougeotte-as-activities-director/

Q: What is your vision for the future of the leadership program and the campus?

A: My vision is to facilitate a culture of students that will work relentlessly for the student body and ultimately be their voice. I would also like to continue to build on the entire spirit of the school. I’ve seen glimpses of it throughout the year and would like that to be the norm, bleed maroon and gold.

Q: What are your goals for next year?

A: A big goal of mine for the upcoming school year is to make sure that the leadership class represents all groups around our campus. Our main purpose will be to serve the student body so that our culture at Whitney is as dynamic as can be.

Q: What do you want to change?

A: I want to make this transition as smooth as possible, and it is hard to say what will be changing for next year as I have not spoken with the students yet that make up the executive board for next year’s class.

Q: What will be the same as years past?

A: I plan to keep a lot of what is already in place at Whitney from rallies, LTA’s, spirit weeks, fundraisers, et cetera.

Q: Why did you want to reopen applications and what size class do you want to have?

A: I want to make sure all groups are represented in our leadership class. I reopened the application deadline to give students the opportunity to do so from all groups around our campus. I am not sure what the class size will be until I look closely at the applications and evaluate them.

Q: Will the other advisors stay the same?

A: I would love to keep the current advisors [ Mrs. Kari Ustaszewski and Ms. Nicole Ferguson] involved in the program. They have worked with the program since my wife Jenny Armas was the activities director, and they bring a lot of energy and value to the leadership class. My wife will also be advising for next year’s class. I would like to add a few more pieces to the leadership program, however, those have not been finalized.

Q: What new committees will you want to add or are there any you might want to get rid of or change?

A: I plan to transition X-Factor back to the class as it is an intricate part of our school culture, and it is one of the aspects of Whitney High School that sets us apart.

Q: Why did you want to be next year’s activities director?

A: “’ve decided to take on the job because I have taught at WHS for seven years and I truly bleed maroon and gold. I love the students at Whitney, which is why I am passionate about the school.

by: MADILYN SINDELAR