A little over a week ago, staff and students were awaiting the announcement for next year’s principal. The school population has been on the edge of their seats up until April 11, when an Instagram post was made about the new hire.

As celebrated by the caption, the official school account was happy to announce next year’s principal would be Elizabeth Raska. Mrs. Raska is the current associate principal and has been party of the falcon family for four years now.

Raska is an A&M alumni who specialized in pharmaceutical and medical research. Afterwards, she went on to work for UT’s medical school. According to Raska, this position is where she discovered her love for education.

Eventually, she climbed the tiers of education from a science curriculum writer to once again working in the field with students.

The legacy left by Principal Drake, however, is a difficult one to beat. Going into this new hire, students were unsure of what to expect. Many of them left the idea of optimism, and instead fixated on the great loss of Mr. Drake.

With it being announced now, however, that Mrs. Raska would be the next principal, students and staff are able to conjure conclusions that go beyond the retirement of Drake. Instead, they can appreciate the accomplishments of Drake, and anticipate new leadership.

According to freshman Rhea Wadhwa, students are glad to see a woman in position of power.

“I will miss Mr. Drake as principal, however it’s exciting to see this change in leadership,” Wadhwa said.

Students also recognize the success of Raska as an associate principal. “Although I don’t know her well personally, Mrs. Raska has been a wonderful associate principal,” freshman Jason Sha said.

Upon interviewing students, though it has been more obvious students are less familiar with Mrs. Raska due to her position as associate principal.

Associate principals often work on administration and organization rather than student interaction. But that does not diminish the fact Raska has strong leadership skills.

“She has been a wonderful AP my senior year,” Emma Lovely said. “I think she’ll do great as next year’s principal.”

Another student, sophomore Amelia Weiss, notes something similar.

“I appreciate that Mrs. Raska already has experience in operating our school,” Weiss said.

Overall, students still mourn the loss of Mr. Drake as principal. But now, with the announcement made, students and staff have a change to look forward to. It will be an exciting opportunity for new perspective.