As many may remember, Loomis students recently underwent the Prefect/RA selection process, a fairly arduous procedure involving multiple short-essays, an interview, and multiple recommendations. It is a fairly extensive operation for a fairly influential position.
Like with any selective process, there’s bound to be people that don’t qualify for the position. It is hard to apply, and it is a large competing pool (half of the boarding community applied this year) and there just aren’t enough positions for everyone. As Dean Sasser had said “We just don’t have positions for everyone; the decision [just] happens. Most of the time we’re [the deans and various dorm-faculty heads] balancing “teams”, and it is important to get complimentary personality types so that we can connect experience and personality”. The Prefect position is important to Loomis Chaffee, and with all of the position’s visibility, one can quickly jump to the conclusion of not having much else to do in the community to show leadership, and that’s just not true. Dean Sasser was kind enough to allow for an hour-long Q&A session about the prefect position and how to handle various things (rejection, the position itself, cynicism, etc.).
Of course the first question was about whether the position merited such prestige, to which Dean Sasser had said yes. And if one looks closer at the actual purpose of the position, it can be more easily understood why prefects are so prominent in school culture. Prefects act as a sort of gateway to school (which can be overwhelming on its own) and allow for a more personal interface to a large administration. Fellow students helping out and guiding you, prefects are no doubt important.
In the prefect/RA selection process, the faculty are looking for a good ‘fit’. If you didn’t get the position, that doesn’t mean the faculty didn’t appreciate your potential leadership skills-it just meant that you didn’t figure so well into the potential list of prefects. And that’s not a bad thing. There are several ways to help out in the community, and every way counts. And if you’re just looking for leadership positions, that’s fine as well! Just scrolling through my email, I can find various different opportunities (Tour Guide, Peer Council1); and the number of them are always increasing.
To the sophomores who didn’t get the position this year-you can always apply next year. On the other hand, why not figure out your own unique way to help out? Loomis is a broad campus with a growing, vibrant culture. Sticking to traditional roles isn’t going to disrupt anything. To the juniors who didn’t get the position-enjoy less responsibility! There are other ways to make your mark in campus, and now is the perfect time to start to figure out how.
Possible Leadership Positions (Courtesy of Dean Barker):
- Acapellicans Leaders
- Agricultural (Ag)proctor
- Alumni Ambassadors – works with the alumni office on alumni engagement through philanthropy day planning, thank you note writing, etc.
- Class Night committee (seniors who work with Lisa Ross, Director of Alumni Relations, to plan Class night which is the evening before commencement)
- Class Officers
- Day Student Mentors
- Environmental (E)proctor
- Head Tour Guide
- International Student Ambassador (ISA)
- Loomis Chaffee Athletics Association (LCAA)
- Musical Revue (MRev) Leaders
- Orientation Leaders
- Peer Counselor
- Peer Health Educator
- Pelican Service Organization (PSO) Leaders
- QRC Tutors
- Resident Assistants (RAs)
- Senior Meditation Leaders/Organizers
- Social Media Team
- Starting a club (a good and active one)
- Student Activities (StuActs)
- Student Council Representatives
- Student Council Officers (Pres, VP, Sec/Treasurer- seniors)
- School Committees: Disciplinary Committee (DC), Food, Technology, Curriculum, Rules, Calendar
- Sophomore Retreat Leaders (seniors)
- Student Commencement Speaker (speeches delivered at senior class meeting in the spring)
- Student Library Advisory Board
- The Log Newspaper editors and staff
- The Confluence Yearbook editors and staff
- The Loom editors and staff
- The World Bulletin editors and staff
- Tour Guide
- Tech Theater – directors, assistant directors, etc.
- Organization leaders (including, but not limited to PRISM, SPECTRUM, Christian Fellowship, Jewish Student Association (JSA), Women in STEM, Oysters, etc.)
- Writing Studio Students
