What new ideas, projects or initiatives do you have?
“I would like to initiate a fund to support students who wish to participate in one-off academic competitions. Quite a few students have interests that are not reflected in our distinguished tier three clubs; quite a few students are part of a club that does not compete. The academic competitions I have in mind are open to small teams but are no less challenging, educational, and prestigious for that. Such competitions may necessitate registration, a qualifying exam, perhaps travel expenses. I hope to build a fund for this purpose and will advocate for students who seek such opportunities.”
What is your main goal and how do you plan realistically to achieve it?
“In addition to the usual duties of the treasurer, my personal goal is to help club leaders organize events they wish to hold and/or to expand their current programing. It is disappointing if you cannot make your vision a reality, and money is the stumbling block. I want to help club leaders bring their visions to life! I promise to work closely with club leaders, particularly club treasurers, as well as the school’s administration and other members of the Student Council to identify appropriate funds and, if necessary, to organize fundraising. I will also strive to ensure budgetary transparency.”
What experiences, skills and other qualifications make you a good candidate for this position?
“This year I served as treasurer of JSA. I have been responsible for JSA’s expenses, credit cards, and budget management. As a club treasurer, I know firsthand the challenges clubs may encounter. I bring to this position a knowledge of economics: I took an introductory economics course taught online by a Yale professor as well as UChicago’s ‘Economics from an Experimental Perspective.’ For a research project in this course, I worked in a team with student-researchers from across the world to produce a research project. I am conscientious and enterprising and will work tirelessly on UHigh’s behalf.”
What is a change in the school this year that you disagreed with or would like to see remedied?
“I believe that the current phone policy would benefit from some reform. While backed by pedagogical research and motivated by concerns for student attention, learning and community-building, the current policy strikes me as too forbidding and all-encompassing. It creates inconveniences in such everyday tasks as organizing a ride home or to an afterschool activity, coordinating schedules with parents and guardians, checking and responding to updates/changes in athletic schedules and other activities. I would work to revise the phone policy to allow students to use the phone during free lab periods and during lunch outside the cafeteria.”
How will you communicate the concerns of students to the administration?
“I will listen to my peers. I will bring student concerns to the Council. I will try to establish how widespread a concern may be by conducting surveys and using Midway interviews as feedback. I will collaborate with other members of the Student Council to work out a solution. Then, I will engage the administration — schedule as many meetings as necessary, offer a range of solutions, stand ready to revise our ideas and return with a better option. I will always follow up to ensure that student concerns have been addressed and reforms or solutions have been implemented.”
