by Sahana Rao (’26) | March 10, 2023
The results of the Associated Student Body 2023-2024 elections have been announced. After their hard work and campaigning, four candidates were elected and four other candidates were appointed for various roles. Nyaah Cacao (’24), Hailey Harris (’24), Arif Mohamed (’24), and Charlie Withers (’24) were elected. Jiyou Lee (’24) was appointed Rally Board Representative, Niva Shirsekar (’24) for Cage Captain, George Jelley (’24) for Campus Ministry Representative, and Gabriella Ip (’24) for Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion Representative.
Each officer had a unique approach to obtaining their positions and boasts a unique history with leadership on campus. Harris described her campaigning process of “making videos, sitting out at lunch, creating posters, and giving a speech,” adding that she “[got] to know so many more people at the school.” Through her campaign, Harris truly impacted fellow Lancers and was consequently elected.
Meanwhile, Lee explained how her process started in her freshman year. Before being appointed, she was part of the Executive Rally Board and Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior Student Councils. She has worked with many teachers who are part of Student Activities, and was eventually appointed by Mr. Herhold as the rally board representative.
Each representative worked tirelessly to attain their position and is passionate about their role and the ways in which they could impact Saint Francis. Ip’s position as a Social Justice, Equity, and Inclusion officer involves working with affinity groups, Affinity Council, class councils, and Ms. Lai, the Director of School Culture & Belonging. While interacting with these groups, Ip has formed new ideas and feedback about inclusivity, and solutions to inclusivity issues that may arise. “I’ve been on Asian Student Association’s Board since sophomore year, and it introduced me to working closely with my culture,” she said, “It was hard for me to accept my culture growing up, and I think that throughout my time on ASA, I grew a love for my culture and started to enjoy encouraging others to do the same…. Soon enough I considered becoming an SJEI representative to create a bigger impact on our community—not just the affinity group I am on the board of, but the whole school.”
Meanwhile, Lee is in charge of ensuring that the ASB projects and the schoolwide rallies “correspond and work well together,” as well as “publicizing events, speaking during liturgies, and being a responsible leader on campus.” She chose her position to be able to “create something from [her] imagination and creativity a reality” instead of always using her “textbook brainpower.” She added, “It feels really different when you are the person behind the scenes on everything.”
ASB makes lots of decisions on the students’ behalf, and thus its members want to create lasting and helpful innovations for the students. Ip explains how she wants to “call attention to topics/concerns that [she] see[s] classmates around [her] mention.” Harris adds that “[her] goal is to have more clubs and sports interact with each other to bond,” helping establish “a great school culture and school spirit.”
As the leaders gear up to take on their roles, the Saint Francis community waits in anticipation for the new additions and improvements to the school. Hoping to create many lasting memories for the students, Lee quoted Will Smith in her speech, saying, “I don’t think that life is determined by the number of breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.”
