Student leadership, especially the opportunity to serve as a proctor, has been an important part of Williston for many years.

The purpose of the proctor is to set an example for other students at the school. Being a boarding proctor means being the student head of one of the dorms. They are in charge of the other boarders, and their goal is to help and monitor them throughout the school year.

They have many responsibilities, such as “proctor duty,” where they check in and account for the boarding students at certain times throughout the day and night. They also make sure that the students are not on their phones during study hall.

Proctor applications were due in March and April for next year. This leadership opportunity is available to boarders as well as day students, and gives students a chance to take an active role in the Williston community.

Coach Koritkoski, among others, including Ms. Davey, Mrs. Noble, the class deans, and the dorm heads, plays a large role in deciding who will be a part of the proctorship program.

Senior Sebi Herrera, who has been a proctor for two years, reflected on his experience during junior year, where he worked in the 194 dormitory as a proctor for freshman.

“It was Jake Prossner, Soma Mizobuchi, Julien Nicolas, Chris Espinal and I, and we basically just split up the dorm into quadrants, and so whatever side of the dorm you lived on, you helped out the people there the most,” he said.

As a senior, Sebi proctors students in Ford. He said, “It’s me, Will Fokas, Jake, and Soma. Will and Jake are on the second floor and Soma and I are on the third and first floor. I help out on the third floor, if anyone has questions or if anyone has problems.”

Being a boarding proctor is not easy. Koritkoski said each year, “some people turn down the job because they don’t want to go to a specific dorm. They rather not be a proctor and live in a certain dorm than be a proctor and live in a different dorm.”

He added, “We want people to prioritize the position over the dorm because we want really good, strong student leaders who are interested in promoting the best of what Williston is. But I also respect that this is a really hard decision to make, and most of them are rising seniors and they have a vision for what their senior is going to be, and sometimes it’s not being in a freshman dorm or being somewhere where their closest friends aren’t.”

Sebi admitted being a proctor has been a gratifying experience.

“It’s nice to help out new students and show them what Williston is about,” he said “It has nice privileges. Living with freshman was actually very fun and rewarding because I got to see them mature at Williston and see them become leaders.”

Despite the fact that the proctorship program seems to be mainly centered on the boarding proctors, Koritkoski stressed, “You never want to overlook the importance of the day students.”

Current junior proctor Caroline Channel thinks that the day student proctors play a very significant part in the Williston community. “It means being a model student, citizen, and person,” she said. “The role of a day student proctor is to help students learn how to things work at Williston in the first few months of school. There are two sides to the job: being a leader and being a friend.”

Another junior proctor, Annabelle Farnham, pointed out the day student’s involvement with Williston. She said, “During preseason, we come to campus early to greet returning and new athletes and students. A group of people also go to Bonnie Brae [Girl Scouts camp] at the beginning of the year while the freshman are there to put on some skits for them to spell out the rules.”

Koritkoski hopes to expand the responsibilities of the day students within the program, including having students cover free time in the dining halls and matching up proctors and students over the summer.

“We are going to revive part of that program where next year all new day students will be paired or matched up with day student proctors in the summer, so they can communicate and talk and so you know someone on campus,” he said. “Even if you’re a new PG day student, we will connect you with a day student proctor.”

Both the boarding and day student proctors serve as leaders and role models of the school. Their duties as proctors may differ slightly, but they both serve the same purpose: helping students.