The Student Council at Greeley West High School is taking on it’s next up challenge, applying for the glamorous Council of Excellence award. This recognition, granted to only exceptional student councils across the United States, highlights school involvement, leadership, and commitment to student engagement. The application process isn’t simple either.
For senior Maddy Vella, applying was the next step. “I think it was really pushed on us by Ms. (Amanda) Weiss, but we all really love the idea because we’ve been working so hard as a council these past three years,” Vella said. “We’ve established ourselves within the school, and this was just the next big thing to take on.”
2025-26 president Cody Gesick was also very excited for his application, adding, “A lot of work we do goes unnoticed sometimes, and we wanted to prove just how much we contribute to the school. This application lets us showcase our efforts and dedication.”
According to Vella, the council’s creativity and determination make them strong candidates. “We take initiative to try new things, but we also stick with what works. For example, our Spartan Choice Awards, which we introduced my sophomore year, was a huge hit, and so we’ve kept improving it every year. The same goes for our Black History Month events. We evolve while staying true to the message,” she explained.
Gesick added, “When looking at the application’s requirements, we realized we already meet most of them. Of course, there’s room for improvement, but we’re confident in our strengths.”
The application isn’t just a simple form to fill out, it’s an extensive and detailed collection of documents, proof of events, budgets, and more. “There are a lot of required elements, but we were already doing most of them,” Vella stated. “We just had to organize everything into the right format, including pictures, scripts, and financial records.”
To divide the workload, the council split into groups. “We all tackled different parts,” Gesick explained. “The first section was about how we run STUCO, so we had to provide specific examples of our leadership. The second part focused on three major projects from this year, our dodgeball tournament, Trick-or-Treat Street, and Spartan Choice assemblies.”
One of the biggest challenges? Getting started.
“This has been on our radar since October, which is already a hectic time for STUCO.” Vella said. “Just sitting down and going through the list of over 100 different things was overwhelming enough. But once we realized we were already halfway there, it became more manageable.”
For Gesick, the hardest part was identifying areas of improvement. “It was eye opening to see where we could do more. Now that I’ve been elected president, one of my goals is to implement the things we’ve talked about but haven’t put into action yet.”
Being recognized as a Council of Excellence would be a well earned reward for Vella. “We work hard, not just for our school but for the community. This would be a way to validate our efforts and push us to do even better each year.”
Gesick agrees, highlighting that the work doesn’t just stop after receiving the award. “Since we have to reapply every year, it’ll keep us striving for excellence and continuously improving. It will forsure keep us on our toes.”
For students considering applying in the future, Gesick has some advice to share,” Go for it! Our council is like a tight knit family, and you form great relationships while making a real difference in the school.”
