Taking Charge

TAKING

CHARGE

Freshman class officers don’t need to be on campus to connect with the student body

Anita Beroza

In the early fall of 2020, the freshman student body held its first-ever online class officer elections. Avi Shekhar and Stella Pavao were the two students who stepped up to run as freshman president and vice president.

“At the start, I had no idea what ASB was. I was just looking to meet new people and establish faces at Carlmont,” Shekhar said.

Pavao, on the other hand, found herself exploring a growing interest she has developed over past years.

“I was always kind of interested in student government; I had helped out my friends with their campaigns in previous years. It got to the point where it was like, if I’m ever going to do this, I might as well do it now,” Pavao said. “The idea of government always seemed interesting, but I wasn’t able to take a large role, being a minor, in my city government, but I knew that student government was an option.”

Shekhar ran his campaign with a specific goal in mind.

“I really wanted to lift people’s spirits up, especially since lockdown had started,” Shekhar said.

The freshman class officers’ duties are mostly focused organizing activities for the student body.

“Recently, we just did a game night, and we had quite a few people come,” Shekhar said. “We’ve done a few videos for the students, like Couchella and the Christmas Competition.”

With the struggles of distance learning, not only can keeping everyone connected be difficult, but just planning events to do so can be a challenge.

“We’ve been doing video announcements, trying to keep everyone informed about what’s happening at school, even though we’re not on campus,” Pavao said. “Distance learning does make it tricky to get things planned.”

Compounding these difficulties is the fact Pavao and Shekhar are the only two freshmen in the ASB class.

“When we first got there, it was really embarrassing. We had 47 people clapping for us ... it kind of shocked us because we logged on, and suddenly everyone was screaming,” Shekhar said. “They [ASB] always hype each other up … and it’s great to be a part of that.”

After leading a few events, the two quickly found their place and have come to enjoy the role they play in representing students.

“Everyone is so welcoming and so nice that sometimes I forget we’re the only freshmen,” Pavao said.

Despite the obstacles of distance learning, Pavao and Shekhar feel ASB continues to be a positive experience.

“It’s been surprisingly pleasant,” Pavao said. “I thought it would be a lot more stressful or intense doing it while not on campus or not having events in person, but everyone’s been really welcoming and really kind and really willing to help.”