This year has been one for the books at St. Dominic. This year was the first year back to normal since the pandemic. We had many great leaders, both students and faculty, that led us through this interesting time. Now as the year comes to a close, the next leaders who will take up that mantle are being chosen.

There are many roles that are being filled with new and passionate leaders. Some of these roles are Head of House, house leadership, Peer Ministers, Ambassador lead team and AD leadership. 

The Head of House and house leadership organizations are about midway through their application process. Administration has been interviewing many of the current juniors for Head of House opportunities. The house leadership roles have just begun though, as houses are preparing freshmen and sophomores ready to step into that position of Head of House when they reach junior year. With the growth of the house system, the number of leadership roles are also growing. 

“A difference this year is these seniors coming in experienced the house system as freshmen and so I think that combined with no pandemic restrictions is why we’ve had so many applications,” House Coordinator Mr. Duncan stated. 

For our freshmen and sophomores, there are many roles in the house system that they can apply for. Some include Social Media Captain, Philanthropy Captain, Spirit Captain, New Member Captain and Special Events Captain. The newest leadership position, Special Events Captain, is going to make everything in the house system more efficient and proactive for the St. Dominic community. The Special Event Captain stems from the previous Student Council program. The school decided to make a strong decision to combine the house system and Stuco to make everything bigger and better. 

“It just seems like a natural progression because so many people that were involved in Stuco, were also involved in house leadership. Marrying the two of them together just seems to make more sense,” Mr. Duncan said. 

For our rising seniors who chose to follow a different path in leadership, there is also Peer Ministry. With our growing school, the faith is also growing and having friends to help guide you in your faith journey is a big necessity. Peer ministers help organize and lead the many retreats St. Dominic has to offer for it’s students. 

“The next academic year is going to be certainly bigger in terms of the amount of things that we do. So a lot of that is enrollment driven. Next year, we’re going from six to seven Kairos retreats. Next year we’re eliminating the Senior Service Day and requiring all seniors in the class of 2023 to do a senior retreat. We’re going to add a Peer Ministry alumni retreat. So we’re adding content, that’s definitely a way that we’re growing,” Peer Ministry Leader Fr. Patrick Russell said. 

For sophomore and juniors, the ambassador lead team is getting ready to help welcome the class of 2026. With all of the interviews done the announcement is soon to be made, and with the high number of people applying to lead the ambassador program, everyone is excited to see who these future leaders will be. 

“What drew me to this position is that I want to be more involved in the ambassador program. I absolutely love the program and everything we as ambassadors do and I want to be a big part of that. I also want to set an example and be a role model for future ambassadors and future St. Dominic students to be as involved as possible,” sophomore Isabelle Dam quoted. 

Finally, for all grades, A.D. leadership roles give you the opportunity to be the voice of God for everyone in the club. Every week, A.D. club meets during empower hour and discusses the gospels. Usually there are three students who lead the conversation, the A.D. leaders. This year is special due to the eight applicants, which made this year the biggest application year in A.D. history. 

“Every single year I ask the current leaders and I say we don’t have to only have three leaders. With more applicants you’re going to have more really good candidates,” moderator of the A.D. Club Mr. Matt Winkleman said. 

With all of these roles we get to see St. Dominic students’ talents shine. These leadership roles are soon to be filled and our community is extremely excited to see the people to take on that mantle. Whoever they may be, they will definitely be making a positive impact for St. Dominic’s future.