Nworah B. Ayogu ’10 will lead a predominately male group of senior class marshals, the Harvard Alumni Association announced yesterday.

Both Ayogu and Second Class Marshal Larry D. Arbuthnott ’10 said their primary goals as marshals are to promote class unity and to help seniors get to know each other during their final year as undergraduates.

The eight class marshals are responsible for planning senior class activities, helping pick the Class Day speaker, and organizing future alumni events.

Ayogu said he is particularly looking forward to the opportunity to help select the Class Day speaker.

“I’m not going to lie, Michelle Obama would be nice,” Ayogu said. “Barack would be a close second.”

A neurobiology concentrator in Currier House, Ayogu said he was “humbled and confused” by his selection as First Marshal.

“There definitely were people in the top 16 I would have picked over me,” he said.

Ayogu said he was at the T station waiting to take the train to lab when a friend gave him a high five. He said he thought his friend was celebrating the arrival of the Ashmont train until the friend congratulated him for being selected First Class Marshal.

Joining Ayogu and Arbuthnott as the Class of 2010’s representatives are Shiv M. Gaglani ’10, Jamison A. Hill ’10, Ami A. Nash ’10, Robert B. Niles ’10, Andres Castro Samayoa ’10, and George A. Thampy ’10.

Thampy said he looks forward to working with a group of students “who come with a stamp of approval from hundreds of people who say, ‘we know you, and we trust you.’”

Ayogu and Arbuthnott said that they were thrilled by the group of marshals selected, though both added that they wished the group better reflected the gender makeup of their class.

This year, 17 class marshal finalists were selected as opposed to 16 in past years, a change which raised speculation among several students that a technical error had led to an additional student being placed among the finalists.

The Alumni Association has not provided a reason for the change in numbers, and senior class coordinator Alexandra Monti could not be reached by The Crimson.

In addition to the eight elected marshals, the Senior Class Committee also includes representatives from each House.

Applications for House representative are due to the Alumni Association tomorrow, and elections will begin on Friday.

—Staff writer Lauren D. Kiel can be reached at lkiel@fas.harvard.edu.