Chloe Witt – 2015-16

Name: Chloe Witt

Graduation year: 2017

School year she served as the student rep: 2015-16

Hometown: River Vale

How being the student rep impacted her: “[The position helped me] find a way to actually share my voice and how I can speak on behalf of the students. [It taught me] how could I share my voice and make it heard and not let age or someone thinking that they have a higher status be able to tell me no…So I think that working in this position gave me a wider lens of school politics, of how a school board functions, and then [it] also [showed me how] to use my voice and work with another student to help bridge that gap between the students and the individuals making decisions for the students…Now, I typically gravitate towards leadership positions and [try] to promote inclusivity and have individuals have their voices heard. So I think [being the student rep] supported me and kind of jump started me in gaining those leadership roles…I definitely think that it helped give me a voice and have the confidence to do that.”

PV involvement (besides Student Council): Soccer, track, Camp Raspberry, Relay for Life, Spanish National Honor Society, Honor Society, Homecoming Committee

PV memory: “It was a Valley Cup memory. I was doing a soccer shootout and I was able to win it and it was very, very fun [and] very electric. I had all my soccer friends and just my friends [even if they were in different grades] cheer me on. It was really, really great. And I would also say, there was a day that everybody wore orange for Zack Latteri. And I think that was a day that really just made me feel supported and loved that everyone was supporting Zack too.”

Favorite PV teachers: Buchanan, Kosch

Post-high school path: “I went off to Boston College right after high school and I was there for all four years. I originally went in with a pre med track and a secondary education track so I was double majoring in biology and secondary education. I soon realized that [I didn’t want] to do either track…So I soon switched up my majors a little bit, and I was able to graduate Boston College with a biology degree and an applied psychology and human development degree with a special education minor. And with that, I decided to do occupational therapy…I was also an EMT for Boston College EMS. I did Relay for Life for all four years in which I was president for two of them. I also participated in Special Olympics, and I did Project Sunshine, which was creating care packages and going to hospitals for kids just in the general hospital and the psychiatric unit and in the oncology unit.”

What she’s up to now: “I am currently at Tufts University for the Occupational Therapy Doctorate program, and I just attended my pinning ceremony so I’m two years down and I have one year left, and I’m projected to graduate in May of 2024 with that doctorate…I still am on the Hillsdale Volunteer Ambulance Service. I have been the vice president for the past two and a half years. I drive the ambulance, [and] I am a crew chief, so I help lead calls and I help support new EMTs who are joining our corps. I still participate in Relay for Life. I actually just participated in my 17th Relay for Life this past April. During my time at Tufts, I was the co-president for SOTA, which is the Student Occupational Therapy Association. So I worked to help fundraise, push inclusivity and diversity initiatives, and worked with my e-board to even put on social events, fundraisers and stuff like that.”

Future plans: “I’m heading off this summer to New England Disabled Sports in New Hampshire for my doctoral capstone project. And there I’ll help with health literacy and creating materials to help spread their mission and recruit volunteers and athletes. In the fall, I’ll be at a hospital in Massachusetts at an inpatient unit, and in the spring I will be at a school that is specialized for students with disabilities, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Advice for future student reps: “Make your voice heard. Obviously, be respectful and read the room, but realize that your voice is really important and that it’s a big responsibility to have the thoughts and the expectations of your peers on you and having to relay them, but roll with that responsibility. And you’ll really learn a lot about yourself and your communication skills and also what you need to learn and how you can apply that in future settings.”

Advice for high school students: “Don’t be afraid to not know what you want to do. I didn’t know specifically what I wanted to do. I didn’t really confirm it until my junior year of college, and that’s what college is for. It’s to be able to explore. So don’t pigeonhole yourself. If you really don’t know what you want to do, that’s okay. And I know what field I want to go into, but I have about eight practice areas…So let professors, let peers, let your own education just guide you rather than thinking you have to pick something and roll with it right away…just don’t don’t be afraid to not know what you want to do. Because I know people in their 50s who are like ‘yeah, I still don’t know what I want to do.’”