Alexis Hu, sophomore, joined returning student representatives Sadie Cumberbatch and Jack Stuhlmacher, seniors, on the school board this October. 

“I’m really, really honored to be in this position,” Hu said.

The student representatives are the liaison between the school board and the students. 

“We get to communicate what we think best represents the students’ interests and ideas to the school board,” said Hu.

Prior to this year, Hu hadn’t known much about the school board. The spring lockdown gave her time to do more research, sparking an interest in the position.

“During quarantine I had a lot of time on my hands… I watched some videos and got to know this position,” Hu said.

She was especially motivated to apply this year, given the unique circumstances and decisions that will need to be addressed due to COVID.

“The reason I wanted to apply is that the school board is of course important all years but especially this year given that we are under such unconventional circumstances,” Hu said. “I wanted to give back to my community in some way”.

Hu hopes to be a strong advocate for the students in her position as student representative.

“I want to be able to represent the student body somewhat successfully,” Hu said, “I know it’s unrealistic to expect that I will be able to represent everybody’s ideas, or communicate all the ideas and visions. But I want to be able to at least do it adequately.”

The student representatives are essential in making sure that all voices are heard when making changes that will impact the high school.

“The students are the ones living in it, so I think that our ideas and our voices really matter when the administration is making decisions,” Hu said.

The board’s policy for student representatives calls for them to serve staggered terms, with one experienced student rep who can teach the other. Ordinarily, there will be two representatives per year. This year, there are three: Hu, and seniors Sadie Cumberbatch and Jack Stuhmacher. The representatives and other members of the board are working to make unprecedented decisions due to the unusual school year.

“Everybody is very dedicated to giving students a quality learning experience despite the situation,” Hu said.

Relatively new to the position, Hu has been to one meeting over Zoom, which was open to the public.

“There was a lot of sharing of opinions,” Hu said. “I thought it was very beneficial, as it always is, to get feedback”.

Hu has felt welcomed by the current members of the school board.

“I just think that everybody on the school board, including the other two representatives Sadie and Jack, have been very respectful and kind and very understanding to me,” Hu said.

She hopes that students will contact her with their thoughts and opinions.

“I hope people will reach out to me and communicate with me any ideas they have,” Hu said.

Students can contact Hu at [email protected]