Student Council President, Taylor Carnell Speaks On How Student Life Is Being Implemented During COVID-19

On March 11, 17-year-old senior, Taylor Carnell was interviewed by the journalism class at NHS. Carnell is the face of Nutley High School’s Student Council and has been committed to student government since his high school years in a small charter school in Idaho where he grew up. Although Carnell was not formally a member of the Student Council, he was an active member of his school’s community. Leadership motivates him and that's why he enjoys being president as much as he does. He moved to Nutley NJ and started his junior year at Nutley High School. However, he has been faced with many challenges as president, including fundraising and student life that has been impacted due to COVID-19. 

Fundraising this year for Student Council has been nearly impossible, but has also been a valuable time for Taylor and his officers to brainstorm for further fundraising ideas. “We have been planning a lot of things and doing our best. There’s a lot of red tape that we have to go through, but in terms of fundraisers, there has not been too much we can do,” Carnell explains. Involving the club members in these fundraising ideas is crucial to make Student Council as valuable as it is. 

Taylor tells the students that he loves hearing the input of his peers. Communication with the club members has been limited this year but, “we try to at least every month have one big meeting with the overall club and we get their opinions on things. We have google surveys and we just sort of ask them how they feel about things we are planning. That’s usually how we communicate with the larger student body.” says Taylor. He has made it his responsibility to formally run- student council as best as he can.  Being president of the Student Council is just one of his many responsibilities. 

Taylor Carnell, as mentioned before, is from Idaho. When he moved to Nutley NJ, he felt like so many opportunities came to him. “I have done so much here. I have been trying to do so much more.”  He is involved in three different school-run clubs and runs cross country in the fall. He is graduating from NHS this spring and has hopes to go to college in NJ, maybe at Rutgers. 

Student Council is a club dedicated to community service, communication, fundraising, student life, and leadership. Taylor and his officers love hearing ideas and listening to the student body as a whole to make sure he is making the right decisions. To get involved in the Student Council, email any of the officers and join!