STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
PRACTICE MAKES PREFECT HOW ONE STUDENT LEADER REINVENTED HIS ROLE IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 BY LAUREN ALPERN
A
n article on LinkedIn about successful leadership lists connecting as one of the key leadership strategies that drive success. Sonya Shelton writes, “When you encourage others and show you care about them, you draw them forward even when they face challenges and obstacles. How can you connect with your team today?” As Head Prefect, Jacob Buchan ’21 has had the immense challenge of trying to connect and engage the entire student body during a year where nothing has been normal, where nothing is the same as in previous years, where classes have shifted from in-school to online and back again, where students are cohorted and cannot mingle, where Ketchum Hall is no longer a Great Hall for dining and social activities, but a quiet area divided into Junior School classrooms. A daunting task, to say the least. But Jacob has risen to the challenge in impressive ways with the help of an impressive team. Armed with nine other Prefects—many of whom were House Captains during their Grade 11 year, which ended in lockdown, and many of whom were Captains during their Grade 8 year—Jacob and his team are a talented and determined group of leaders who won’t let something like a pandemic stop them from ensuring an engaged and connected school. “The beginning was, of course, uncertain: everything is easier in person, from meetings and events, to just being present, and mixing and mingling with students from other grades,” said Jacob.
“We’ve really had to think about how to rework this year, from assemblies and social initiatives to connections with the Junior School. My fellow Prefects are fantastic guys and amazing peers, and the leadership coordinators, Ms. Kaye and Ms. Girvan, are phenomenal leaders, so I never felt like we’d be struggling with this task.” And they haven’t. From virtual assemblies, a new Prefect Instagram account, podcasts and a virtual escape room with Grade 9s to weekly Gather.Town meetups, online social events with sister schools and a virtual initiative where the Prefects “visit” the Junior School in their classrooms, it’s clear that connectivity and engagement are still thriving at RSGC. “We had been doing virtual assemblies throughout the end of Grade 11, so the school was already used to that, and my other Communications Prefects, Joey Lisser and Sebastian Raman, are digital media virtuosos,” said Jacob. “It’s the
20 The Shield Spring 2021 • Royal St. George’s College
social initiatives that are a struggle. We really had to think: Will people want to join an online event after a long day of online school? Michael Keene and Hunter Durand have run a number of initiatives that have been very successful. Other things like the mental health initiative Mind: Your Business and the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) have had a big uptick in attendance because it’s not a huge effort to come. It’s just a click on your computer and you’re there.” At the same time, the “new” way of doing things has required a lot more work and planning for Jacob and his team. For Jacob, he and his fellow Communications Prefects now have to spend hours working on each assembly, whereas before, there was no time commitment other than standing up in front of the Senior School and inviting people to make announcements. Jacob, Joey and Sebastian now have to
