1. For what position are you running?

Senior Prefect

2. What makes you feel that you are qualified for the position? Please describe any leadership experiences you’ve had, if applicable.

Since I’ve been apart of the Harvard-Westlake community, I’ve had many experiences in leadership. Firstly, I was chosen last year to be a trainee in Peer Support, and will become a leader next year. As a trainee, I have learned the tools necessary for class leadership. During Peer Support, as trainees we are expected to constantly adhere to the necessities of our peers, while still maintaining a level of authority and order in the group. This experience has furthered my ability to listen and support others, while still having a balance where I put full trust in them as well. Secondly, I also was chosen as a sophomore to be a counselor for Camp Harmony, a camp for underprivileged children in Los Angeles. This experience has changed me in unanticipated ways. My responsibilities included 24/7 observation of my campers needs. Through this position, I acquired a stronger sense of leadership in order to prevent chaos at any moment. However, the ultimate goal in being a counselor is to make sure that your campers are having fun and are satisfied with what is being offered to them at the community, similarly to how I will make sure the students at Harvard-Westlake are constantly satisfied by what is being offered by the Prefect Council. Thirdly, last summer after being a counselor I became part of Leadership for United in Harmony, which took me a step further into leading this amazing organization on a more regular basis, by planning events and fundraising. Consequently, I will be confident in planning and fundraising for our senior year, making it our best year yet.

3. How do you feel about the Honor Board and what has led you to feel this way?

I feel that the Honor Board is truly what makes our community so exceptional. Our school has such a unique sense of understanding between students and teachers, which has led me to grow relationships with teachers that without the honor code would be impossible. The fact that the Honor Board is student led showcases the immense amount of independence that students obtain in our community, and it enables the board to make fair decisions with the perspective of our own peers who serve on the Honor Board. In my transition from the middle school to the upper school, I sensed an immediate increase in the level of comfort around the campus, because everyone was more aware and conscious of the code that we follow everyday. It also has made students strive for integrity and honor in their own work, because they are motivated by their peers instead of the administration.

4. Please describe one thing in Harvard-Westlake’s community you would change. Also, how would you use the influence of the position of Junior/Senior Prefect to change our community?

I’ve heard from previous Harvard-Westlake graduates, and I even see it in the current senior class, that second semester senior year is when “senior-year bonding” really starts to happen. The class becomes one cohesive unit before going off to college. Do you want senior year bonding to start before second semester? Let’s work together and make this happen. I look forward to collaborating ideas with all of you so we can create some fun senior year bonding moments before second semester. I commend the current Prefect Council for planning an event, Spring in Your Step, that turned out to be awesome. I want more of those ideas from you, and by using the influence of the position of Senior Prefect I will make sure that whatever the Prefect Council is planning is a collaboration of what you, the senior class, wants.