WOODBURY — Some call him Jimmy G, some call him Gwiz, but the most iconic nickname for James Gwiazdoski is a little more political.

“A few of us refer to him as the mayor of Nonnewaug,” says hall monitor Ellie Bruce. “He is very interested in what’s going on with everybody and is also very informative as to what is going on.”

And just like any good elected official, Gwiazdoski frequents the campaign trail – in his case, the hallway.

“I see James too many times a day,” says Bruce.

“I can’t remember a time when I’m in the hallway and he’s not there,” says Brady Herman, a junior at Nonnewaug who is one of James’ close friends.

Gwiazdoski is a bright face at Nonnewaug. He spends his time not just learning but roaming the halls, working in class or talking with teachers.

“Other than learning, I usually spend the day visiting with some of my favorite teachers such as Mrs. [Kathy] Brenner, Ms. [Kellie] Barber, Brian [Boccio] the custodian, and Mr. Dom [John Dominello],” says Gwiazdoski. “I like to take breaks during class and walk in the hallways.”

Though Gwiazdoski may seem like he spends little time in class, like any good mayor, he actually dedicates lots of time to the school and community. After school, Gwiazdoski participates in the Unified Buddies program, which he attends every week.

“It’s a club where we work with children who have special needs,” says Gwiazdoski. “Unified is about inclusion, helping kids feel included. We do projects with them. And in the wintertime, we do basketball, and in the springtime we do volleyball.”

Gwiazdoski is in his third year of the program.

“He has been in our [Unified] Buddies club since freshman year,” says Dominello, the culinary teacher and co-advisor of the Unified Buddies program. “He has been an important member and helped recruit other members. He shows up every week. He is a very important part of our Buddies club.”

Last year, Gwiazdoski won the leadership award for the Unified Buddies program.

“James is a natural leader,” says Conor Gereg, the other Unified co-advisor, “and his willingness to help encourage and develop everyone who is on our unified team. His leadership skills are something that Mr. Dominello and I noticed right away. James exemplifies everything that the award represents.”

“Everyone reveres his ability to make this campus feel like a home,” Gereg continued, “and he brings those same attributes to Unified sports.”

Dominello and Gereg feel like they almost have a third advisor in their program with all that Gwiazdoski contributes to the program.

“When I need him to help with Unified sports he really understands what his role is and he helps out those other students,” says Dominello, “and that speaks volumes of the kind of person he is and his maturity level in the regard of Unified sports.”

After Gwiazdoski attends his club, his day still isn’t over. He works at Ace Hardware in town for his ag Supervised Agricultural Experience.

“I work at Ace five days a week and I enjoy working there,” says Gwiazdoski. “[I enjoy working there] because it’s a good job, pays well and you get to learn about a lot of different things in the store retail and a lot of different aspects.”

During his shifts, he helps customers out on the floor. He loads bags of dirt, concrete, and bird feed into customers’ cars. He also works the register and stocks shelves.

And his job doesn’t end there. On the weekends during basketball season, Gwiazdoski helps out when he can doing the scoreboard at Woodbury Middle School for the travel and park and rec teams. He’s also the scorekeeper for Nonnewaug JV boys basketball home games.

“It’s great to see him at the basketball games at the middle school,” says Barber. “I go to watch my nieces and nephews play basketball and he’s always there running the scoreboard.”

But his real home is at Nonnewaug, where he is a friendly face that everyone knows.

“James is always smiling,” says Boccio, the head custodian at Nonnewaug. “He is very happy. He is very interested in what everybody is doing. We tend to call him the mayor around here. James is always interested in what’s around him.”

Boccio is recovering from hip surgery, and before he went on medical leave for his surgery, Gwiazdoski gifted Boccio a hand-written card and gift card for his recovery.

“At times I do it for someone if they are special to me,” says Gwiazdoski.

But it’s not just Boccio who feels this way about Gwiazdoski. Joshua Kornblut, who taught his eighth-grade science class, also feels that he is a good kid with lots of personality.

“James is a cartoon character,” says Kornblut. “There should be a TV show about him on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, and I mean this in the nicest possible way. He is entertaining, you never know what he is going to do or say next.”

Gwiazdoski is a character who is a big part of not just Nonnewaug, but also the town and community.

“When you’re having a bad day, just go see the mayor, James G.,” Kornblut says, “and he will definitely brighten your day.”