Dynamic Duo

Benay Nwajei ’25 (Girls Prep Division) and Jonathan Martinez ’25 (Boys Prep Division) may not have known each other before being named Senior Group Leader of their respective Divisions, but they make a dynamic team. Midway through Summer Phase, they sat for an interview about their approach to working together, their leadership experiences thus far, and what they hope to accomplish this year.

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Tell us a little bit about your path to St. Benedict’s Prep.

Benay: I was born and raised in Paterson. My mom is a single parent, and my dad is in the military stationed at Annapolis. I was in public schools and my track coach for the travel squad was the coach at St. Benedict’s. That’s how I first learned about the School.  

Jonathan: I'm from Belleville and my dad (Jaime Martinez) went to Benedict’s. My uncles (Gio Bonilla ’08 and Chris Bonilla ’13) graduated from the School and Gio works here now. I didn’t like school as an eighth grader. My uncles and my dad convinced me that were a lot more opportunities at Benedict’s. I jumped at it because I really didn't want to be at a normal high school. I came here and just fell in love.

Benay, what was your experience like when you first came for The Overnight?

Benay: I was very close-minded to the idea and didn’t want to be here. But by the end of my freshman year, I started to realize that Benedict’s offered something new. It’s not an ordinary high school. Especially leadership-wise, I was able to always be heard, whether I had a leadership position or not. It’s so unique.

How did you both get started in student leadership?

Jonathan: Leadership-wise, I started when I first got here by playing water polo and tried to be a leader on the team. The reality of getting into leadership involves a lot of conversations with the people who can get you to where you want to be. I didn’t want to be Senior Group Leader. I wanted to be Freshman Leader from day one. I talked to the Freshman Dean, I talked freshman teachers, I talked to counselors and asked questions, ‘Hey, I notice you said this. Why? What’s the reasoning?’

I got a position as a counselor sophomore year and was Assistant Freshman Leader the year after that. I was always more of a behind-the-scenes person. If a kid is sleeping during Convo, I’d rather address it with them one-on-one and find out what’s going on than address the entire Group about it.  

Benay: Freshman year I was captain of the girls track team. I saw I had to branch out because honestly, being a student-athlete cannot be your whole identity. I explored other things that excited me. I became a marketing intern, a Fr. Mark Payne Institute fellow, worked on the admissions team, and last year, I was Assistant Group Leader for Betty Edelen.

I got to try a lot of different things, even when it came to small things like giving tours for the admissions team. Being able to introduce people to the School…I can't introduce anyone if I didn't buy into the School. Being able to lead a tour with new parents and students and tell them what Benedict’s is all about from my own experiences is pretty cool.

How well did you know each other before becoming Senior Group Leader of your respective Divisions?

Benay: We didn't know each other at all. I always knew Jonathan was the Assistant Freshman Leader, but I didn’t know who he was. We had to learn to get each other and know each other.

Jonathan:  On the boy’s side, we were pulled into a meeting with last year’s Senior Group Leader, and he told us our positions. I asked, ‘Who is the girls senior leader?’ and he said, ‘Benay.’ I didn’t know who she was.

Benay: That whole day after school everyone was saying, ‘You guys have to get to know each other. You guys are running the School!’

It looks like you did get to know each other. Can you talk about the dynamic between the two positions, how you work together and how you address working through problems or conflict?

Jonathan: I think conflict works out pretty well between us for the most part. We do a lot of things separate because we are two different Divisions, and we don't involve each other unless it affects everyone. When it comes to conflict what we usually do is break it down into a smaller group because there can be instances where there are too many leaders for all of us to come to a decision. Sometimes we have arguments and we’re like, ‘Alright, we’re done. We’ll talk about it the next day,’ and we just keep coming to it until it works out and becomes an agreement.

Earlier today we had a meeting of our leaders about an incident. We just set everyone down and said, ‘Hash it out.’ Everyone got to voice their opinions, and it got worked out.  

Benay: We both understand that the job we have here is very important. If people see us clashing and having problems, how do we get them to settle in if we’re not settled in? We try to be very open-minded to each other’s ideas. Especially in this first month of school when we’re learning our positions while trying to help others do what they need to do.  

We’re having this conversation the second week of Summer Phase. How is it going so far?

Benay: For the girls, it’s going really well. Everyone is very excited to do their jobs. It’s very smooth sailing because during the summer the leadership team already had ideas about what we wanted to do. We were in a group chat and there was never silence. We’re also trying to put more on the junior (UDII) girls, so they are more prepared for when they become senior leaders.

Jonathan:  The Overnight we just held wasn’t the perfect Overnight (and I might be biased because I always wanted to run it), but I loved it. I think it was one of the best Overnights because it wasn't just a boot camp with leaders yelling at freshmen and making them do unnecessary stuff. It was actual community building.

By the third week of Summer Phase, I'm looking at soccer kids, basketball kids and water polo kids all sitting together at lunch, which I've never seen in my four years. I love that.  

Are there any big calls or decisions you’ve made so far?

Benay: People literally come to me for everything so it’s hard to name one thing. I believe delegating and having the juniors run a full day of school would be one.

Jonathan: I think Girls Division runs relatively better. The Boys Prep Division is bigger so there's more conflict between students. One call we’ve made was when lunch ran very badly, the senior leaders all stood back. I’ll put the microphone on the table where a kid is causing the most problems and say, “Run lunch.”  It might run horribly, and I’ll step in to fix things, but the kid who’s causing the most problems [and is now in charge of lunch] is overwhelmed. He’s stressed, he’s upset. He also gets empathy. And you see way fewer problems at lunch the next day.

What goals have you set for your respective Divisions this year?

Benay: The girls are still fairly new — this is our fifth year on the Property, so one of our goals is getting them more accommodated, comfortable and to make this place their own.  

Jonathan: My biggest goal is to restructure the way we do things as a leadership team and get people closer, especially in the senior class. The freshman class becomes close because they have the Overnight and they hike The Trail; the juniors have the WILD (Wilderness Inspired Leadership Development). Those experiences make it a little easier to bring people together, but my class, we don’t have that. Still, I think it can be done.

Benay: It is going to be a little harder for seniors. But if we actually plan something…like the senior girls started a new tradition, Senior Sunrise — Lock-In Edition to celebrate the end of Summer Phase. If we sit down as a class and plan it, then it would be able to get done.

Traditionally, the Senior Group Leaders kick off the Annual Fund for Benedict’s. You authored the 2024-25 appeal together, but is there anything else you want alumni to know about supporting the School?

Benay: We have so many people transitioning into the School, so to see alumni come back and show their support helps people understand that Benedict’s is something special. We’re not an ordinary school where you come to school and get yelled at by teachers. We’re being treated with respect. We’re being held responsible. We’re being held accountable. Alumni coming back helps us so much to help people buy in. 

Jonathan: I say this all the time, Benedict’s saves lives. I can count on my hands and toes how many kids have opened up and explained tragic stories and thoughts they have in their heads, and how it has saved them from doing some awful things to themselves or others. The only reason we figure these things out is because of the way Benedict’s is structured.

Having that alumni support is amazing because you could say this place is special, but what does that mean? Look at all the alumni who come back and work here. Look at all the alumni at Convo. And when alumni actually come to the School and they start talking to kids and you see how successful they are, it starts to click. And there’s also the opposite. Guys who didn't graduate and they come back and say, ‘I wish I listened to Benedict’s.’ Kids hear this and they straighten their posture, and they start to listen and engage. Seeing the love and support for this place makes things click for a lot of people.

 

The 2024-25 Senior Leadership Team for the Girls Prep Division is:

Senior Group Leader: Benay Nwajei ’25
Freshman Leader: Tiffany Regullano ’25
Transfer Group Leader: Ashley Nole-Toral ’25
Black Section Leader: Deborah Emile ’25
Garnet Section Leader: Vanailauren Bradley’ 25

The 2024-25 Senior Eight for the Boys Prep Division is:

Senior Group Leader: Jonathan Martinez ’25
Transfer Group Leader: Adrian Rodriguez ’25
Freshman Leader: Aeden Kerr ’25
Chief of Staff: Esosa Notemwanta ’25
Gray Section Leader: Kaleb Hassell ’25
Maroon Section Leader: Liam Vertreese ’25
Blue Section Leader: Victor Laracca ’25
White Section Leader: Keith Davis ’25