The Tecumseh Board of Education (BOE) recently re-created the position of Student Representative in an effort to better serve the students in Tecumseh Local Schools. Tecumseh High School Principal, Ivan Gehret, announced at the April BOE meeting that Tecumseh Junior, Vanessa Cabrera, wrote an impressive essay and has been elected by her fellow students to serve in the post, the first student to do so in a very long time.
Cabrera’s mother is Lucia Alvarez and her father is Carlos Cabrera. Miss Cabrera says she has spent most of her life in the Tecumseh school district and has lived in both New Carlisle and Medway. She also says she has become more involved in school activities this past year. She has been inducted into the National Honor Society, and will now serve at the BOE Student Representative.
Cabrera’s list of community service activities is long. She volunteers at an annual festival hosted by her church, where she especially enjoys helping with the children’s games. Cabrera has volunteered at school festivals as well. She recently served as a translator help non-English speaking parents of incoming Kindergarteners at Park Layne Elementary School too.
Cabrera says she loves being a part of Tecumseh Local Schools.
“I enjoy everything about the Tecumseh district! The students and their parents are always supporting each other if there’s a problem. At football games, baseball games, (and other sports) there’s always a good crowd of us cheering our teams on!”
Since the Student Representative post is so new, Cabrera will be creating a lot of what the job entails, including how to represent other students. But Cabrera says she is not nervous moving forward.
“I don’t feel any pressure... I’m sure I will be representing all the students at Tecumseh district. Mr. Gehret and I have discussed it, but not with a lot of details (since everything) happened so recently. I hope to accomplish the job...I hope to be able to speak well for the students (and) to express any concerns that the students have and discuss them with the board.”
As Cabrera prepares for her year of service, she also considers how her new post will affect her own future.
“I’m excited about everything. It’s all a new experience for me so I’m looking forward to it. I feel like it will be something that I will be able to refer back to when I’m in college studying to be a businesswoman. I think it is a great start to what will come for me in the future and I cannot wait to see how it turns out!”
“I’ll give it all I’ve got!” exclaims Cabrera.
