Not only does Ryan Anderson teach freshman english, he also has the privilege of advising the school’s student government.

He first got involved in student government when he was in high school, and as a member himself he held a state position. This meant that he was a representative for all the students of Montana, Anderson said.

“I fell in love with student government,” he said.

One of the main reasons that he has been a teacher advisor for 14 years was due to his love for the setup. Anderson also finds that it helps to share students’ voices and their say in what goes on in the school. He has found that it helps for the students involved to get the opinions of the rest of the student body into action.

“I get to have contact with students beyond freshman year,” he said.

As he works with the government members to plan activities, he enjoys getting to stay connected with previous students. He said he finds joy in meeting new kids that he didn’t have in class their freshman year. This makes it even more rewarding to work with really good students, Anderson said.

“We let the students run the government,” he said.

Since he sees firsthand how hard these students work to plan activities for the school, he always tries to make sure that the rest of the staff knows this as well. Even though the teachers and other members of the school sometimes get caught in their own events, Anderson wants everyone to understand how hard the students work. He finds that the school and its staff are very supportive.

Like Anderson, senior Zuzu Rudio has found that student government makes it easy for Anderson and his students to stay in contact after freshman year.

“I am extremely glad that I was in his class freshman year because we quickly connected,” Rudio said.

Even after freshman year she considers herself lucky to have connected with him over the four years. She notices how great he has done as advisor because of his passion for it and how much he wants to do for the school. Over time she has seen how dedicated he is and how he gives everything he can to student government, she said.
“I really admire his drive and am honored to have worked with him through student government,” Rudio said.