Senior Class President

Aman Arain

What new ideas would you bring to the table? What is your main goal?

One thing I’m particularly interested in accomplishing is working with the administration to implement more direct and clear repercussions for insensitive activity around the school. While each instance of this behavior must be treated thoughtfully, there must also be a standard protocol in place when dealing with issues like these. I would also like to create more opportunities to better the wellness of the students at the school. While hard work and dedication are important tools to succeed, emphasizing health and wellness of students will help to end our U-High careers together on a high note.

How will you act as a liaison between students and faculty?

Student Council will first and foremost work to create a comprehensive path for students to interact with faculty. I believe that not only is it our job to communicate with them, but to allow for ease of communication between faculty and the rest of the student body. I believe that streamlining the communication process will allow for better relationships between students and faculty members. I have built strong relationships with many faculty members throughout my time at U-High, and by implementing such programs we can surely do the same for the rest of U-High.

What kind of school culture do you hope to see? How will you work to create it?

I’ve been a member of the Lab community for almost my entire life, and I have seen countless issues around the school, especially concerning DEI. While I’ve loved my time at Lab, I haven’t always felt like I belonged. If elected, I hope that I can help cultivate an environment that makes every student feel accepted. The social issues at Lab are some of the most damaging elements of the school, and I think by working to alter the culture, we can assist in alleviating some of the stress and depressive forces that have plagued the community.

How will you work to make U-High a stress-free environment?

While stress is an important piece of hard work and dedication, I believe that the mental wellness of the students comes first. Our school counselors have been a fundamental resource to help reduce stress for students, but fundamentally it is the unique culture of U-High that makes it so stressful. Academic and social stresses escalate each other, horribly damaging the mental well-being of students. I believe that by working to create programs that help alleviate social stresses of isolated cliques and academic pressures that have restricted sleep and other essential practices, we can create a better U-High for the future.

How do you plan to enhance the student body’s engagement in school activities?

I think the most important events to increase participation in are events centered around the well-being of students. There are numerous events throughout the year organized by student groups aimed at educating the school on various issues, and I think better publicization of these events will be key in increasing the well-being of students. We can better do this by placing these events in a higher priority in the daily announcements and using Student Council resources and social media to promote such events. This will undoubtedly increase the turnout at U-High events such as these.

Mikaela Ewing

What new ideas would you bring to the table? What is your main goal?

I would like to bring the Senior Class together by further connecting and supporting the grade in school and on social media. Especially promoting the interests and accomplishments of my classmates. Furthermore, seeing as we missed out on some of the arguably most important moments of our junior year I would like to explore revisiting the opportunities we missed, like retreat, and creating new traditions like a Senior Class carnival or an obstacle course. My main goal is for students to feel excited and comfortable in a school setting. We already highly value “standard” educational values, but I would like to see more emphasis on individual interests and practices. 

How will you act as a liaison between students and faculty?

Throughout my time at Lab I have built strong relationships with all the faculty I interact with. I tend to hear that they are unreachable, scary or that students just don’t feel like interacting with them. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that many people don’t have the opportunity to get to know the faculty outside of assemblies or mandatory meetings. My place in the student body allows me to voice the concerns of my classmates while allowing students to see how the faculty works. My goal is to make students feel as comfortable and confident with our faculty as possible without them having to do the bulk of the work.

What kind of school culture do you hope to see? How will you work to create it?

I tend to see a large amount of division throughout the school between friend groups, grade levels and even people who have different interests. This often leads to lower turnouts for events, decreased school spirit and, in my opinion, less opportunities for fun. I would really like to see this amplified in my last year at Lab because, typically, things are more interesting when more people are involved and dedicated. To do this, I will have to look at new ways for engagement such as creating events that cater to a variety of interests and schedules. Especially since Lab students tend to be very busy, I want them to think of school events and connections as something extremely beneficial to their experience. 

How will you work to make U-High a stress-free environment?

I would like to have students and teachers alike value and set aside time for work other than traditionally “educational” interests. Often people think that if work is not being done in a classroom setting then there is no benefit. But, I would like to show that sometimes school can hinder learning and development of individual character and interests. One of my main goals is to create an environment where all developmental processes are accepted and encouraged. 

How do you plan to enhance the student body’s engagement in school activities?

The largest way I can think of enhancing engagement is making it fit students’ interests and available time. As a baseline, if you want turnout at an event you must ensure that a good amount of people are interested in the activity or will find some enjoyment from coming. The best way to find this out is to have an open line of communication about what students would be interested in and what they feel would make their experiences better. The other main concern is timing. High school students are always busy, so how can we find time for them to engage in a social environment that won’t take time away from the other activities in their life. This starts with talking to teachers and admin to determine the busiest educational time of the year and ends with communication with students about the other activities they are in and the time that they occupy. People are busy so flexibility has to be very prevalent in our environment. 

Antonio Gracias

What new ideas would you bring to the table? What is your main goal?

I want to re-define the Senior Class president to be someone who plans events to make our last year the best, and who creates a much-deserved student voice to generate change. In terms of planning events, I want to create more senior class-specific events that leave lasting memories. For example, senior barbecues, “de-stress” events during the fall, lock-ins, ice skating at the Midway, beach day and a Senior Class outing to Six Flags. Given the climate of the school and our current situation, my main goal is to help the Senior Class smoothly step into a leadership position.

How will you act as a liaison between students and faculty?

This year has been challenging for us all, and to be honest, I don’t know all the answers. What I can do, however, is listen to your suggestions and turn them into realistic and actionable plans. As leaders of the community, we deserve to be heard, and I will fight for each of your voices. Twice a month, I want to host open hours before school for all seniors to ask questions, discuss events, and eat doughnuts! As your Senior Class president, I want to ensure that everyone is heard and that they have opportunities to create change.

What kind of school culture do you hope to see? How will you work to create it?

As Senior Class president, I would like to see a culture in which the Senior Class steps up as leaders to create change. As I reflect on this past year, I want to help create an environment where everyone feels safe and accepted. In order to create that culture, I would meet with the leaders of all ethnic and social groups once a month to discuss their goals and to see how we can enact change. 

How will you work to make U-High a stress-free environment?

To be completely candid, making U-High a stress-free environment is a hard task. At Lab, we are taught to put thought and effort into our work, and we all care about success. It would be unfair of me to promise a stress-free environment while coming back from social distancing and going into the college application process. What I can do, however, is to organize events that help us de-stress and connect as a grade, such as a senior barbecue and lock-in. While these won’t completely eliminate stress, spending time with one another will help manage it. 

How do you plan to enhance the student body’s engagement in school activities?

To enhance the student body’s engagement in school activities, it’s essential to tailor events to what students actually want to do. That’s why if elected as Senior Class president, I’m going to make it my mission to be as open to the grade for suggestions as possible. Through surveys and discussions, we can work together to make events approachable and fun. I’d also like to give students the opportunity to buy U-High gear at sporting events and theater productions to help boost spirit.

Susan Huang

What new ideas would you bring to the table? What is your main goal?

My main goal is to make our senior year the best year we’ll have yet. However, this will be difficult to accomplish, considering that we will all be faced with the stress and pressure of college apps and decisions. That is why my main focus next year on Student Council would be on our grade’s mental health, since everyone will probably struggle with it next year in differing levels of severity. Student Council has a lot of potential and room to get more involved, and I think the school definitely does not focus on it enough.

How will you act as a liaison between students and faculty?

Strong relationships between faculty and the students are the most important part of being able to communicate between the two bodies. For as long as I’ve been at Lab, one of the things I love to do the most has been building strong, close relationships with my teachers. I have never seen faculty as distant people just here for us to learn school material from. Student Council is no different; I am always ready to communicate and build relationships with faculty.

What kind of school culture do you hope to see? How will you work to create it?

Lab is a very diverse school. Of course it still has room to improve in the diversity department, but I don’t think anyone can deny the fact that it is more diverse than most schools in the country and the world. However, this fact alone does not mean that it is extremely welcoming to students who aren’t white, male, cis, straight, able-bodied, and Christian. I hope to create a culture in which we can use our diversity to our advantage, to help people learn from those around them who are different and to gain more empathy for everyone. 

How will you work to make U-High a stress-free environment?

It is no secret that everyone at Lab experiences stress. Senior year for us will no doubt bring even more stress, with having to complete college applications and having to figure out what our futures after high school will look like. And neither I nor Student Council can magically eliminate all this pressure and stress. However, I can help reduce it. Through events made specifically to help destress to an online, anonymous support wall where we can discuss mental health surrounding school, I have many ideas that will hopefully destigmatize mental health and reduce stress next year.

How do you plan to enhance the student body’s engagement in school activities?

The clear answer to this would be to integrate student body suggestions and feedback into school activities and events, which is something I think almost every candidate will say and try to accomplish. However, this is easier said than done, because, from experience on Student Council, I know most people will not want to take initiative to express their opinions, and not all voices in the student body will be represented. I think the most effective solution would be to make it for people to share their thoughts, through things like multiple choice polls, asking in person, etc.

Soyi (Elizabeth) Park

What new ideas would you bring to the table? What is your main goal?

My main goal is to make sure that my peers feel comfortable talking about anything. This year has been rough for some of us, due to events that hurt certain communities and individuals. If I am in a position where I can easily reach out to faculty, I would make sure my peers feel safe. Whenever we gather together to talk about certain topics that might be disturbing for some of us, students hesitate to speak up in public. I plan to create anonymous ways to talk about certain topics together, so students share their opinions on improving our community.  

How will you act as a liaison between students and faculty?

I am very aware of the fact that communication between students and faculty is one of the most important factors of attending school. I will make sure that students do not hesitate to reach out to me so that I can convey the voices of my peers to the faculty. I plan to deliver important messages from students by writing formal letters, having meetings regularly, and other such ways. To deliver the faculty’s messages to students, I plan to use Schoology, Midway and assemblies to deliver those messages. 

What kind of school culture do you hope to see? How will you work to create it?

I hope that Lab recognizes more diversity. I know that most students don’t really like attending assemblies during their free periods, but assemblies that students consider to be important are assemblies that deal with our painful history. As a student, I truly appreciate having these sessions, but when I talk to other students of color, some express complaints about how we don’t talk deeply about Asians and Latinos. I realized that even though we try to include everyone, some may feel left out. I plan to run at least one more school assembly to gather and discuss these topics.

How will you work to make U-High a stress-free environment?

I know that juniors have been stressing out about colleges recently, and I have seen seniors get really stressed out about college applications. As a class president, I hope to find ways to help my peers find ways to reduce their stress regarding admissions. For example, the Student Council could create a program to reach out to Lab school alumni to give their advice on navigating the admissions cycle. In addition, the Student Council could set up dedicated application essay writing sessions for seniors.

How do you plan to enhance the student body’s engagement in school activities?

I plan on enhancing the student body’s engagement in school activities by hosting events that students consider important such as assemblies about race and college essay writing sessions. In addition, by making students feel safe at Lab, I hope to increase engagement that way. If students feel safe, their Lab pride will increase. I also want to take the time to listen to and address each student’s concerns, and if students feel heard and cared for, I believe their engagement in school activities will be enhanced.