The Highlander
1
THE HIGHLANDER • April 12, 2024
April 12. 2024 - Vol. 2. Issue 4
HOLIDAY CORNER
CAMPUS NEWS
Meet Solomon Lewis Pg.5
Lulu Lopez
SPORTS
KYTN Fusion Vespers pg.2
Basketball Season is a Success Pg.3
SA ELECTIONS ARE HAPPENING
As the school year comes to a close and the seniors prepare to say goodbye, the schools have to prepare, too. Drama will need more actors and set designers, intramurals will need more players, Gymnix will need more teammates, and the Student Association is going to need new members. Student Association (SA) is a group of students that the student body votes into office that plan school events, organize activities, and plan all things student life related. This is an important role especially at a boarding school as student life on campus is 24 hours per day. Since the end of the school year is rapidly approaching, students began campaigning to be a part of SA for next year. Student Association has helped plan one of students’ favorite memories at Highland. One way SA livens up student life is to plan an entire week of fun ways to dress up to show school spirit and earn class points. This year was no exception. Fun was had by all as the days involved days like barbecue Dad vs. Vsco girl, Twin day, Wacky Wednesday, Camo day, Fancy Friday to encourage school spirit. They also plan an informal and formal banquet for each school year. These are just a few examples of the fun SA helps facilitate each year. There are nine candidates running for the 2024’25 SA election. One cannot travel the halls without seeing posters all around the Ad Building in promotion of themselves attempting to win votes. Student Josias Velazquez, sophomore, brought donuts to encourage students to vote for him. He says that is
Pictures provided by: Naomi Houston
what he calls a friendly competition. Another student running for SA, Diego Reynoso who will be a senior next year, said the reason he is running for SA is “because I want to be a part of the action and want to give back as much as possible.” Bailey Darrell is this year’s SA President and since she is a senior, she will not be here to run again, but she does have advice for anyone who’s running. “Work really hard, manage your time well and if you work as a team, you’ll get it all done.” Another SA member, this year’s Vice President Jackson Roddy and a senior, says his advice for the students running is “be willing to put in hard work and try to think outside the box.” They both said that learning to take suggestions from students and the team and working together as a team is the most important part. Clara Reading, a sophomore, is also running for a position in SA. She is a treasure for the girls club and a part of Gymnix. She has grown a lot in the past
year and she feels as if she’s grown out of her shell this year. When asked why she’s running she said “I see how Bailey and Lily are, and it makes me want to make an impact on the school.” She said what motivated her is “one day I was talking with some people and we were bouncing ideas out to each other, and they said I would be a good fit for SA.” The vote of confidence made her consider SA as a possibility. Carson Watkins is also a sophomore. Even though he was in SA this year as SA pastor, he is running again. He really enjoys planning events and working together as a group to make student life better. Sarang Kim will be a senior next year, and she is also running for SA. She is from Korea, lives in the dorm and is a girls’ club officer. “I want to be a part of an SA because I want to grow my leadership skills and gain experience. I have a strong passion in planning activities and have gained interactions with people to be able to make the school a better place and fun. What motivated me was seeing your current SA. It made me realize how much they do and how fun it is and seeing the
activities they do fuels me with ideas that I want to do. I’ve also been SA president at my old school, so I also have some experience. SA gives a sense of community and belonging among students, organizing social events, clubs, and activities that bring students together, creating opportunities for networking, collaboration, and friendship.” Maggie Carlson is one of the two freshmen running for SA. She is Editor in Chief for the Journalism Department. She said, “I’m running for SA because it gives me an opportunity to get to know people better and make events better. I also want to use people’s suggestions and ideas more. I didn’t run for class officer specifically because I wanted to run for SA and make a bigger impact on the school than a class officer would.” Isaiah McKenzie, a junior, wants to be an SA officer. He said, “I want to have an influence in the school and be able to share my ideas and help the school have a fun time in the SA events next year. What motivated me was seeing how well SA has done this year and in previous years. It was like, ‘wow,’ I want to be able to make that change too and help people enjoy it.” This year’s SA has planned events to keep the students active and their hard work has motivated the students running for next year’s SA to have even more fun and contribute to the overall experience of the student body. Everyone has been working really hard in order to win votes. As Darrell, current SA president said “if you work as a team, everything will get done.” Being involved in SA can provide students with opportunities to develop leadership, organizational, and communication skills. Serving in leadership roles helps students build confidence and gain valuable experience that can benefit them in their future careers. Remember to vote! Your vote counts!