He doesn’t have a secret service to protect him and he cannot travel on Air Force One to his many presidential meetings but Ike Bertels, senior class president of 2017, faces similar pressures that the United States’ very own president does.

Bertels has been the president of the 2017 class since his sophomore year at EHS while still participating in many different clubs and sports.

Most would feel that the pressure of being class president; an EPIC council member; a member of the EHS baseball team, the trap shooting club, National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society; and being the treasurer of Spanish club could equate to a heavy load of stress for one person, but Bertels has almost perfected the art of organization and responsibility.

“Experience really helps,” Bertels said when talking about his capabilities to juggle his many extracurriculars. “And it has been a challenge but it has helped me in the long run.”

In addition to his many different clubs and sports, Bertels has multiple pressing issues, such as class fundraisers and the senior gift, which he must attend to while being the class president. Just last week he met with the other senior class officers to address upcoming events that his fellow members of the student body might not have considered yet.

“We have been planning for the class float that needs to be made for the Homecoming Parade,” Bertels said. “Along with the class video, class t-shirts, fundraising through candy sales and any other issues a student has brought to my attention.”

Among these tasks, Bertels has also come up with the new idea of academic scholarship signings that are very much similar to the signings that committed college athletes participate in.

“This is not to discourage athletes,” Bertels said. “It’s just to get more recognition for the academic side of the high school.”

The signings will have a designated scholarship value and is mostly targeted for the full-ride or merit scholarships that are mostly based off of academic achievements.

He admitted that he has had to learn many helpful skills to successfully acquire and practice over these past three years.

“My main skill that has improved over the years is probably my leadership quality,” Bertels said. He added that speaking in front of large crowds, such as the senior class assembly, has helped him build confidence in speaking publically and his overall communication skills with Principal Dr. Cramsey.

Luckily, Bertels’ peers seem to agree with his presidential techniques. “There is no one I would rather have be my class president,” senior class vice president, Riley Patterson said. Patterson feels that Bertels always shows a great attitude and is an exceptional peer to look up to for leadership.

In the future, Bertels plans on incorporating his learned skills from being class president to help him gain a leadership position in his career choice.

“I’m looking into going into engineering,” Bertels said. “And I would love to be in a leadership position to help other people out and to have that kind of say of what’s going to happen in a business.”

Although the 2016-2017 school year has only just begun, Bertels has shown that he is not going to let up on his efforts to make this “the best school year ever,” as Dr. Cramsey has said many times before. Bertels plans on working his hardest and he said he will, “Keep on, keepin’ on,” just as he hopes his fellow senior class peers will do as well.