In Pursuit of Elected Service—A Noble Enterprise Indeed

As the 2025 Federal Election draws to a close, let us give kudos to last week’s announcement of the newly elected 2025-26 Prefect Council: Head Prefects – Clio Milwright & Nathan Holtum; Arts Prefect – Fiona Huang; Academic Prefect – Noah MacAuley; Advocacy Prefect – Clementine Germain; Athletic Prefect – Jasper Quandt; House Prefect – David Schmidt; Service Prefect – Shreesha Ramandev; and Student Life Prefect – Flora Meyer. Also a vote of thanks to the outgoing Council for this past year: Erin Plecas, Jacob Tam, Chelsea Mak, Zoë Carroll, Nathan Rogers, Katharine Morley, Owen Krigolson, Michelle Kwok, Alex Palm and Amy Jiabai.

These elected positions are real-life opportunities for students to serve their fellow students and school. As they learn and create their own understanding of what this service is all about, they will undoubtedly begin to realize the incredible value of serving their community as leaders, as others have before them.

At GNS, there are now a number of occasions when voting is required to select candidates for an important  position, whether that is as a Class Representative, Gryphon Government, the Faculty Association or the Board of Governors. But these roles have not always been part of the school’s structure and selections have not always been as democratic as today’s model. Often the ultimate selection was made or approved by one person, the Headmaster or Headmistress.

It was only with the advent of Boards of Governors – 1950 for Norfolk House and 1970 for Glenlyon – that voting rather than just volunteering and/or selection took place and at the student level, hand-picking by Headteachers and their staff was still very much the norm.

Shining a Spotlight on the Significance of Service Learning at GNS describes how Service has become an integral part of the GNS Mission. From this exposure and the opportunities provided, students have been able to use these experiences to pursue other avenues for Service, within the school community as they mature and possibly return as alumni wanting to give back and be a part of the school’s governance, or looking further afield to the municipal, provincial and federal political arenas. Even a few GNS staff have followed this path. Some students and staff who have taken this step include:

Robin Baird was a student at Glenlyon from 1973-79 and was elected Mackenzie House Captain in 1978-79. He was a Conservative candidate in the 2006 39th General Federal Election Victoria riding. He was later to be appointed as a  B.C. Supreme Court Judge for Nanaimo in 2012.

David Bennett was a teacher at Glenlyon from 1970-78 and was elected to the District of Sooke Municipal Council in 2008 for a three year term and then ran for Mayor in 2011.

Randy Longmuir was also a teacher at GNS, from 1985-96. In 1999, Randy turned to local politics and was elected to Parksville’s City Council. In 2002 he became the Mayor, an office he held until 2005.

Walter McLean was a student at Glenlyon from 1944-50. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1979 federal election in the riding of Waterloo. He was re-elected in the 1980, 1984 and 1988 elections. From 1984 to 1985, he was Secretary of State for Canada, and from 1985 to 1986, he was Minister of State for Immigration. He retired from politics in 1993. He retired from politics in 1993.

Connie McCann worked at GNS from 1993-04, taking on the unenviable position of Transport Coordinator when busing became increasingly complicated and important for the school. She became a Councillor in Esquimalt in 1999 for two terms and now serves as the President of the Victoria Regional Pickleball Assoc.

Briony Penn was a student at Norfolk House from 1966-77 and elected as Caister House Captain in 1976-77. She was the Liberal Party of Canada’s candidate for Saanich—Gulf Islands in the 40th Canadian federal election. Briony is a successful author, environmentalist and co-founded the Land Conservancy of B.C. in 1997. 

Teale Phelps Bondaroff was a teacher and Debate coach at GNS 2014-16. He was elected to the Saanich Municipal Council in 2022 and currently serves as Chair of the  Accessibility and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, Director on the Royal McPherson Theatre Society Board and Trustee of the Greater Victoria Public Library Board.

David Screech was a student at Glenlyon from 1973-76. He served 4 terms as a Councillor in View Royal between 2002-14 before two terms as  mayor in 2014-22. He is a retired businessman.

Anthony Yacowar was a student at GNS from 1993-2006 and elected as a Prefect in 2005-06. He was a candidate for Victoria’s City Council in 2022. He is a CPA and manager of an entertainment group.

No doubt, there are some not mentioned and if former students who returned to GNS to offer their service as Alumni Association Executive members or Board of Governor members were included, then the number of prospective ‘politicians’ would likely be multiplied many times over, all of which is a positive indication of just how many are willing to give of themselves to serve.