Meet Bryant’s current Senior Class President: Gladys Diaz-Rondon. She’s hard-working and aims to make sure everyone has a voice in our school.

Jalia: What made you want to run for Senior Class President?

Gladys: Honestly, I don’t really know. I just know that I wanted to join student government. It’s something I’ve always been interested in, wanting to make a change in the school and I thought: go big or go home. I didn’t think I was actually gonna get it though! Not gonna lie..

Jalia: Some students may not know what you do, can you explain your role in school?

Gladys: As president I kind of take all the ideas of all the students around me, everyone in student government, I lead the meetings, [and] I make sure that everything is going to plan. I [also] help organize events, I help plan things, I have direct access to the principal to get my ideas to her, so I’m pretty much just an outlet for the student voice. Everything goes to me, I filter it, and then I go to her.

Jalia: How stressful can your job be? How do you de-stress?

Gladys: I do have to say it’s really stressful. There’s a lot of meetings and a lot of things that you kind of have to keep up with. You know, Wednesday meetings aren’t that bad but then you have late night meetings that you have to go to with the principal, things during the day, and you also have to make sure that you’re reminding everyone of their responsibilities, making sure that you keep everyone in check. Also, everyone is constantly looking at you. Just making sure that I take time for myself, to remove myself out of the president role: that helps a lot with de-stressing. Not just making being president my whole life, [but] making sure I have a life separate [from] that.

Jalia: What does being class president do for you?

Gladys: It’s very fulfilling. It feels very rewarding because when I see the changes that I’m fighting for happen live, it makes me feel like I’m doing it for a good reason.

Jalia: What are some of your goals as class president?

Gladys: I definitely want to make sure that the problems us students see, that teachers may not see, become voiced. I definitely want to make sure that our voices get heard and that the things I implement this year are solid enough that they can last years after me, even after I leave. I’m hoping to not only leave my mark on the school but making sure that school becomes an even more diverse and safe environment for everyone included.

Jalia: Any favorite shows? Music?

Gladys: My current favorite show is Outer Banks, I just finished it, it’s my current binge watch. Another favorite of mine is Grey’s Anatomy and The Office. Music wise, I’ve been really into jazz recently.

Jalia: What is something you want students to know about you?

Gladys: I’m very nice, I’m very welcoming! You can come up to me and say hi, you can talk to me whenever you want to. I’m not something to be scared of.