At first glance, most students don’t see everything that the student body president does for the school. But, what is it really like to be the student body president? For Grace Dean, being the head of the Noblesville High School student council and maintaining a social life at the same time isn’t exactly easy, but Dean makes the most of it.

What’s your typical schedule?

    “In the morning, I wake up very early. I make sure to start my morning as smooth as possible and with lots of positivity and inspiration to get myself going. So, whether that’s listening to music in my car, or reading some inspirational quotes in the morning. That’s one of my favorite parts of the day.

    I have some fun classes this year that I’ve been looking forward to since freshman year, so it’s nice to be able to do that as a senior. A huge part of my life right now is student government, so almost every AL I’ll be working on planning homecoming, or having a meeting with our government, and things like that.

    After school, my schedule depends on the day. It depends what I’m working on with the student government. Right now, I’m developing the brand-new Student Union. So as I’m planning that after school, it’s a lot of setting up meetings, sending emails, and working on the logistics of that to try to put it together. I’m really excited to see where that will go.

    After that, I spend a lot of time on my homework. I am very involved in my homework and school. My family calls me a little bit of a nerd, but I embrace it because I am a nerd and I enjoy doing my homework and I think it’s fun!

    Differently, I love to go to the gym and just run on the treadmill and listen to music. That is the best stress reliever for me. I do keep a very busy schedule, so I like to find time to spend time with my friends and family and go to the gym and do things that keep me balanced so I don’t overwhelm myself too much.”

So are your weekends where you spend the most time with friends and family then?

    “Yes. Weekends are my way to decompress, catch up with friends and family, and do things that get my mind reset and refocused for the next week so I can go into Monday feeling as prepared as possible for new things coming up. Speech takes up most of my Saturday’s as well. It’s not really busy right now, but come wintertime, I will be spending a lot of time writing speeches, going to practices, and competing on Saturdays.”

How do you handle everything that’s on your plate?

    “I try to find a healthy balance among the different aspects of my life and not dwell too much on any particular task. For example, by separating time for school and time for social media, I can focus on one project at a time. I don’t know what I’d do without my daily planner!”

What motivates and inspires you to keep going everyday?

    “My family and friends and their kind hearts inspire me to be a better person every day! In terms of student government, I’m inspired by the thought of uniting our school, making a difference around the community, and making events like homecoming enjoyable for everyone.”

Who has inspired you to be the way you are today?

    “First and foremost, my family. Just their encouragement and support of everything I do is unparalleled and I’m so grateful for how they support me. And no matter what happens, if something is posing a challenge, I can always know that they’ll be a source of positivity for me. If something’s going well, they encourage me to keep going. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

    My friends as well, they’re the same way. They’re both amazing in helping me through whatever life brings.

    I’ve had so many great mentors in terms of peers who are just slightly older than me. Some of the people who were seniors when I was a freshman, I looked up to them and saw them leading the school in ways that I aspired to mirror and aspired to follow in the great programs that they had started. [They] really helped me to gain a sense of the type of leader that I wanted to be and how I wanted to be involved in school. I had great teachers through elementary and middle school who shaped my love for performing arts.

    In terms of student government, I really don’t think I’ll ever know if there was one person or one instance that I decided to run for student government. I think it’s always been something embedded in me to serve as a voice for everyone and represent our student body in school fairly and justly and to be a leader and help to try to make our school a better place. But definitely family and friends, and those student mentors who I’ve looked up to since freshman year. I think that about covers it.”

Has there been a certain teacher who has helped you throughout high school?

    “I can’t just pick one. I’ve had so many great teachers throughout high school that I can’t just pick one. I’ve been taking classes in so many different subjects, that it’s been so great to draw different inspiration from different teachers. In theatre and music, I’ve had great teachers to help me push myself in that realm. In math, I’ve had great teachers who have shown me what it is to solve problems in terms of math problems, test taking skills, and basic strategies like that that I wouldn’t have learned without them.

    I think that I can’t just boil it down to one teacher, but it’s the fact that I’ve had teachers from so many different aspects, like music and math, and that I can bring those together and use their amazing influence to help me find who I am too.”

What would you tell your 9th grade self coming into high school?

    “Take a deep breath, and live in the moment instead of worrying about what’s gonna happen next or anxiously awaiting what the future holds. Learn that as long as you make the most of where you’re living and where you’re at right now, what happens next isn’t something to worry about. The things that are out of your control and truly out of your control. Don’t be so much of a perfectionist to where it takes away from enjoying life and enjoying high school.”

What are you future plans?

    “I am not sure yet where I’m going to go to college, but I’ll be going out East this fall break to look at some school out there. But, I have truly no idea where I’m going to end up. That thought is both scary and mostly exciting! I’m so ready to see how everything works out, and I know that it will.

    Right now, my plan are to undergrad in political science, and then move on to law school in the future. That’s sort of my dream career, but like I said, I have no idea if that will actually happen. It could easily change. But I know that no matter what, I know that I want to incorporate public speaking somehow in what I do and use those writing and speaking skills in whatever career I have. I definitely want a minor in theatre, or somehow incorporate that in my college career, no matter if that’s just a minor or being involved in extracurricular programs that they have.”

Q: How has Grace inspired you?

• Dad(Jeff Dean)

“I am inspired by how positive Grace is. She greets me every morning with a huge smile and a “Good morning dad!” And every night the first thing she says to me is “How was your day?” Not many teenagers ask their dad how his day was. I am also inspired by her drive and passion to be the best she can be at everything she does while always keeping in mind how her actions will impact others.”

• Mom(Meredith Dean)

“Grace inspired me everyday. She is a kind and loyal person. I am most inspired by her humility. Grace is humble when things go her way and more importantly when they don’t.”

• Sister(Bridget Dean)

“Grace has inspired me everyday by being very positive and finding the good in everyone. She never gives up.”

How have you seen the impact of student government on her?

• Dad

“Student government has had a very positive influence on Grace. As a freshman, it allowed her to make new friends in different grades at a very large school. Student government has also helped improve Grace’s leadership skills. Whether it was being in charge of the homecoming float or designing t-shirts, she has lead by example and got as many student involved as possible.”

• Mom

“It has taught her invaluable leadership skills that she will carry on with her beyond high school. Grace feels like student government is a team effort and she values every member. It’s also taught her to grow a tougher skin because you can never make everyone happy all the time.”

• Sister

“It has made Grace a very good leader.”

How often do you see Grace during the week?

• Dad

“I see Grace as much as I can. She does spend more time in her room than she used to but that is very normal for a teenager. Unless I am out of town, I see Grace every day. We try to sit down to dinner every night as a family so I always get time to talk with her and I love that.”

• Mom

“We don’t see Grace very much during the week. Especially around homecoming time and during speech season when she is gone every Saturday for twelve hours. But I will say this: She makes time for her family. She is a best friend to her little sister. I just keep telling myself her crazy schedule is preparing us for when she leaves for college.”

• Sister

“Grace and I are both very busy and I don’t see her much during the week. However when she is home, she always helps me with my homework.”

What has surprised you about Grace and how she handles everything on her plate?

• Dad

“The one thing that constantly surprised me is how positive Grace is. It does not matter how much homework she has or how busy she is with speech & debate or student government she always has a great attitude and a smile on her face.”

• Mom

“I am frequently amazed at how Grace balances her rigorous academics, extracurriculars and personal life. I have to say that what you see at school is pretty much how she is at home. Sweet, sunny personality, smiling. I think that how she stays this way is a choice for her. A positive attitude is her choice. She wants to touch lives in a positive way. I often say that Grace is a better person than I am… and she is.”

• Sister

“I am surprised that Grace can get on by such little sleep, and still have a smile on her face all day, everyday.”