Elections are not only necessary to the American nation, but also to Bulldog nation. They are a significant part of the school year as the elected candidates represent the student class for the entire school year, which is why it is important for students to be informed about who they are voting for. Voting for senior, junior, and sophomore class council positions took place in the spring of last school year, while voting for freshman class council positions took place on Sept. 10.
The class presidents play a substantial role in the way the school year goes as they are in charge of conducting class events, fundraisers, and the rally themes for their class. This year’s class presidents are senior Ava Palacio, junior Katelyn Zhou, sophomore Adelia Li, and freshman Samantha Tam.
Taking on a leadership role such as this one requires characteristics of self-discipline, responsibility, and initiative. Each president’s work ethic and their approach to leadership is different which influences how they handle the responsibilities of their position.
Tam, who is new to this position, aims to be a leader that vocalizes the needs of herself and her class.
“To be a leader, it’s to have your own ideas and, like, speak up for yourself… For me, I feel like I want to lead my class because, not that they need leadership… but someone to help them. I want to help people,” said Tam.
Similar to Tam, Li also prioritizes assisting her peers and building a trustworthy relationship with them as their class president by being someone they could rely on throughout the year to maintain a functional and healthy class.
“It’s not like you’re leading someone, but it’s more of you’re supporting everyone and their decisions and just making sure…everybody feels supported and someone to count on,” said Li.
Both presidents Zhou and Palacio expressed their will to represent the voice of the students and lead by example using their platform as a means to do so effectively.
In order to take on the responsibility of being a class president, there are certain requirements that need to be maintained. The Student Handbook states the requirements of eligibility are:
- Having and maintaining a minimum of a 2.5 total unweighted GPA
- No F’s and no more than one N (needs improvement) and no U’s (unsatisfactory) in citizenship for the semester following their election
- Enrolling into the ASB class after they are elected
Those requirements can make it harder to balance presidential duties with academics and extracurriculars. Oftentimes people believe that the more time someone spends doing something, the more expertise that person will have. As long term presidents Zhou and Palacio believe it is still stressful despite growing accustomed to the time constraints in their lives, especially while undergoing their junior and senior years.
“I get very overwhelmed. I guess like this year a lot of people say they don’t see it as much anymore, but I think it’s just because I got the hang of it… Junior year was the hardest year and that was the time I was most overwhelmed. Now, you just have to let it happen and get over it,” said Palacio.
With two years of experience, going on to her third, as the junior class president, Zhou has learned the significance of time management.
“Most importantly, I feel like it takes a lot of time management being able to manage going to workshops, doing all of your homework on time, and still having a social life. So being able to use my time more effectively and using any free time I have to get homework done and just being at workshops to make sure we’re staying on task with those. Those definitely help manage all of my time and keep everything on track,” said Zhou.
Although being fully aware of the responsibilities that came with their title, they all still decided to take on this position for their own personal reasons. Tam’s influence was her older brother, senior Link Crew president Christopher Tam and his encouragement towards her to use leadership to branch out of her comfort zone.
“I’m kind of quiet, but like I can put myself out there, but with him, he pushed me out there more…He explained to me if I join (class council), especially if I do president, I’m putting myself out there,” said Tam.
Like Tam, Li’s family also had an impact on her decision. Li’s cousins were her main motivation to run for president because they were involved in leadership positions at their schools and served as a model leader to her. Li aims to embody these traits as president of her class.
“…I think I’ve always looked up to them, like when I was little, especially when they were in high school and I was in elementary or like a younger child. I think just like growing up with them and having them as a role model really wanted me to show spirit and be a leader in my class,” said Li.
For Zhou, she had been involved in leadership at her elementary school and middle school, so it seemed right for her to continue that journey in high school.
“In elementary, I was in student council and then, in middle school, I was in WEB (Where Everybody Belongs), which was a leadership class that helped with seventh graders… Entering high school, I knew I wanted to have a major role and be involved a lot so that really helped motivate me to run for president,” said Zhou.
Palacio also gravitated towards leadership roles, but her anxiety about putting herself out there had always impeded her from doing so. In high school, she was able to take on a position and grow and develop in it.
“I just really like leadership and I’ve always been told I’m more of, like, a leadership person. I’m just very outgoing and also like in middle school, I wanted to do ASB, but I just never had the courage to do it… Senior year, I just did it because I really fell in love with class council. I love the community,” said Palacio.
Despite being from different grades and having different motivations, Tam, Li, Zhou, and Palacio share many similarities in the way they want to perform in this position. With their title, they hope to leave a lasting impression on not only their class, but also the community.
