Under the leadership of Student Body Co-Presidents Indigo Mudbhary ’22 and Felix Fein ’22, Lick-Wilmerding has stayed strong as it confronts challenges following a year of virtual learning. LWHS’ student leaders have worked hard to bring the community back together, working with the administration and the student body to rebuild the school’s spirit.
Before attending LWHS, Mudbhary and Fein both had leadership roles in middle school.
In fifth grade, Mudbhary was on the Hamlin School Student Council. She mentioned one of her projects as a leader. She “assigned people a cubby plus an additional one to share with another person. Instead of having one cubby worth of space, they had 1.5 cubbies. Students really enjoyed it — that was my Student Council legacy at Hamlin!”
Fein took on a leadership role in fifth grade at San Francisco Day School. He said that it was very different; he just planned dances and events in middle school. At LWHS, he works with a $20,000 budget to fund activities for the support and entertainment of the students.
Mudbhary said that some of the older girls at Hamlin were her role models growing up. She met them in an affinity space for women of color. They showed her how to succeed in school and life while being a part of a predominantly white institution.
Fein said, “My grandma has been a leading role model in my life. She’s a very short person with tall energy.” She is the most generous person he knows and welcomes everyone with open arms. More recently, he has admired his older peers on LWHS’ Student Council (StuCo) for their leadership skills. “I vividly remember my first day at Lick. At the opening assembly, co-presidents Eddie Dilworth ’19 and Sara Kashani-Sabet ’19 set the tone for my Lick experience.”
Mudbhary was first involved in StuCo at LWHS as a frosh representative and looked up to all the seniors on StuCo. They taught her that “you can really have an impact and you are powerful as a student.”
Mudbhary served three years and Fein served two years on the Student Council prior to becoming presidents. Both have been treasurer and secretary respectively during different years.
Mudbhary expressed that during their time together on StuCo, they supported each other through their various roles and tasks.
“Personally, I wanted to be Co-President because I wanted to make changes in the community. Additionally, Felix is someone I naturally collaborated with and can count on,” said Mudbhary.
Fein shared a similar sentiment. “Indigo has been my Student Council idol for my entire four years at Lick. If you ask anyone in the senior class who embodies the most Lick energy, it would be Indigo. We made a natural pair. It’s been so nice to have someone as kind as Indigo to have my back.”
photo courtesy of Indigo Mudbhary
One of the Co-Presidents’ main responsibilities is overseeing all meetings of the executive council and full council, as well as partaking in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion round table.
“Coming into this school year, we had an ambitious vision for StuCo, as we wanted to tackle issues of equity but also increase school spirit. I do feel like we have achieved a good amount,” said Mudbhary.
Co-Presidents also plan Community Meetings and were able to put together an in-person Community Meeting for the first time in a year.
They also met with Head of School Eric Temple once a month to bring up concerns of the student body directly to Admin.
Mudbhary and Fein have also taken initiative to have an open table outside in the courtyard once a month to connect with the student body and answer any questions.
They have been prioritizing increasing school spirit. Only a small portion of the student body has actually had a full non-COVID year at LWHS. Due to this, many school transitions got lost in the mix last school year.
Fein said, “It has definitely been a challenge negotiating and working with the changes due to the COVID policies.”
Due to COVID-19, Mudbhary and Fein have been faced with lots of challenges that previous presidents did not encounter. They dealt with the lack of spirit and community at LWHS, the rise of mental health concerns and transitioning back into school life. Because of these challenges, Fein and Mudbhary have been the first Co-Presidents invited into a meeting with the Board of Trustees to bring in the perspective of the student body regarding COVID-19 changes.
The stress levels of students were brought to the admin’s attention and with the help of Mudbhary and Fein, they were able to work together to establish a schedule of homework-free weekends. Julieta Lamm-Perez ’23 said that she and her peers were very content with the admins’ new change.
In terms of school spirit, Howth was one of Fein’s highlights. When “Seeing students dancing under tents,” he was able to see LWHS’ spirit being reborn through the student body.
Mudbhary’s highlight was the first spirit week of the school year. For this week, StuCo encouraged students to tag LWHS accounts in pictures of their themed outfits on social media. Lots of people participated, and even students from other high schools in the area started doing the themes and tagging LWHS accounts. “It was amazing seeing how much spirit our school could generate,” she said.
Mudbhary understood students have been missing the snacks once available in the caf. She said, “The biggest root of the problem is the labor shortage. Lick is having trouble finding new staff. We are personally very frustrated with the lack of snacks and drinks available.”
“It’s important that people understand that it’s a bit impossible at this moment, just because of how overworked the caf staff is right now,” said Fein.
The Co-Presidents expressed how students this year are more empowered to make big changes at LWHS than in previous years. Mudbhary said, “When I was a frosh, I wasn’t seeing as much diversity, equity, and inclusion work from Student Council.”
The student inclusion chair is relatively new on the Student Council, however, for the past four years, Fein and Mudbhary stated they have seen a lot more of an emphasis on student inclusion.
The Co-Presidents attribute the school dances to the Vice Presidents of the Student Council, Eamon Riley ’22 and Elodie Griffin-Schmidt ’22. They are completely in charge of dances and are looking to have grade-level events and dances. Mudbhary and Fein both agree that the VP’s have done a great job with their events while maintaining a safe environment. All future events, as of now, will have to be outside.
The Co-Presidents also hope to bring back the Amazing Race, last put on in the Spring of 2019. It was a city-wide scavenger hunt. The presidents are hoping to make the Amazing Race possible again on the last day of school.
Going forward, the presidents would like to work on better communication within StuCo and continue to strengthen the student body.
Looking into next year, there are going to be three senior administrators stepping down from their positions: Temple, Assistant Head of School Randy Barnett and Dean of Students Kate Wiley. This means there will be a lot of administrative change in the next school year.
“I definitely hope that the Lick spirit carries on through that transition, and I know it will because the students are who create that spirit.” Fein hopes LWHS continues to have its beautiful, bright spirit continuing in the future.
Mudbhary and Fein want to leave LWHS ensuring students continue voicing their opinions to the admin. Mudbhary said, “We’re doing our best to ensure students are being empowered and feel listened to. That’s how we would like to leave the school!”
