This year, Cami Dahlstrom took on the role of Assistant Principal of Activities and Student Life. She will be responsible for planning school events and fostering a sense of community within BSM.

When Principal Stephanie Nitchals joined BSM last year, she was surprised there was no dedicated coordinator of activities and student life. As this idea took shape, she recognized Dahlstrom was an ideal candidate for the job. “Ms. Nitchals actually brought up this idea when she first got here last year. She was surprised that as a school this big didn’t have an [Activities and Student Life Assistant Principal]. As the year progressed, she was like, ‘you really love to do these things with student life.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to enrich the students’ lives here’,” Dahlstrom said.

BSM students come from 72 different area codes. This physical separation, combined with residual effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, has made it hard to create a cohesive sense of community. As Director of Student Life, Dahlstrom hopes to overcome these barriers. “It’s actually nice to be able to think about how we can enrich the students’ experience here at BSM in order to make it a fun place to come to,” Dahlstrom said.

Last year Dahlstrom was an Assistant Principal and also managed the school’s COVID-19 policies. Over the past few years, Dahlstrom has taken on a variety of responsibilities, preventing her from devoting complete attention to one goal. “I also was trying to do professional development for teachers, observing teachers and then trying to create a community with our teaching staff as well. So I was just pulled in so many different directions last year, it was hard to do one thing really well,” Dahlstrom said.

A normal day for Dahlstrom this year includes directing student council meetings, organizing clubs, planning school events, and making sure everyone has a voice. She is able to interact with students throughout the day and make sure everyone is enjoying their experience at BSM. “There is a student council meeting every day during homeroom. So right now we’re planning different subcommittees and we’re also starting to plan a holiday ball or at least just to get some ideas on that. We are making sure to incorporate student voices with everybody this year,” Dahlstrom said.

Dahlstrom hopes to reach more students through planning events and hearing their opinions on how to make BSM more inclusive. “Hopefully, I can reach more students this way being in my new position versus just seeing the students that were really struggling last year,” Dahlstrom said.