Monteiro, who hails from the suburb of Norman, Mass., is a psychology concentrator who says he has always been intrigued by issues of fairness in law and politics.

In high school he belonged to Junior State of America, a national political organization, where he wrote the group’s bylaws for the northeastern states.

At Harvard, he has just been elected the executive director of the Small Claims Advisory Service and is considering applying to law school.

Doubting he would have time to commit to full-time council membership, Monteiro considered himself better suited to the Election Commission.

“I thought it would be interesting to view the council elections from the inside, to get to know the candidates in a way that no one else does,” Monteiro says.

Though he admits his job is not always easy, he insists it is very rewarding.

“The best part of it all is putting in time, energy and effort for several months, and then seeing a candidate actually elected and knowing that you had some part in it all,” he says.