West Ranch students were provided the opportunity to vote for their 2024-2025 class officers on Mar. 28. From freshmen to juniors, Wildcats were sent Google Form ballots containing the names of candidates for next year’s officers. After a week of campaigning, candidates eagerly waited for the results which were set to be released that same evening.
For the rising senior class, Natalie Merchant was elected as class president, Naomi Kim as vice president, Addisyn Phaniphon as secretary and Sam Burd as treasurer. As for the rising junior class, Aileen Kwon will be class president, Lauren Lamb will be vice president, Ella Kliewer will be the secretary and Audrey Kim will be the treasurer. Lastly, Owen Hess and Tyler Lankford are respectively the rising sophomore class president and vice president.
Candidates promoted their campaigns in the week prior by using social media to gain voters, asking students to take a photo with their campaign posters and post it online. Kwon explained another approach to campaigning, which was actively engaging with students all around campus and encouraging them to vote by speaking to them one on one: “I just went around a lot to different groups on campus and I just talked to them and got to know them.”
Merchant expressed her enthusiasm for the next year and the many events that come with senior year. With the responsibilities of planning senior events such as senior sunrise and having a prominent role in graduation, Merchant wants to make her last year at West Ranch memorable and fun for her class.
While Kwon and Hess have previous experience as class officers, this is Merchant’s first class officer role. However, with the help of her ASB peers and classmates, Merchant is excited to be an amazing senior class president. “Natalie’s amazing, I’m excited she’s our senior class president. She will bring a lot of spirit for the senior class, yet a lot of leadership,” Mrs. Priske, the ASB advisor, shared.
Also involved in WRTV, Merchant shared her hobbies of photography and filmography, and how that has helped her document her highschool experience by capturing moments from her time at West Ranch. She believes that her work in WRTV has made a big impact on the school and with a large outreach, she hopes to similarly impact ASB next year by “listen[ing] to what everyone has to say and [taking] everything into consideration.”
As the sophomore class president, Hess will have many responsibilities, such as leading the class officers while planning Teacher Appreciation Week and Wellness Week. “I really liked being freshman class vice president and I was ready to take a step up in the position and responsibilities,” Hess emphasized when asked what his motivations were for running for the position of president.
Hess shared his desire to raise funds for exciting school events: “I really want to try raising more money and [having more] fundraisers by tailoring the restaurants or businesses we fund raise with, which will help improve the school.”
Kwon also explained her goals as next year’s junior class president, such as planning great events and activities that will make Wildcats excited and enthusiastic: “I want to improve our school spirit, because I think that’s one of the things we struggle with, and our school culture so we can include more people.”
The role of president requires leadership and communication to plan big events, like prom and other class events. Kwon explained her strengths as a leader: “I think I’ve been able to build good collaboration skills with others and I have a lot of diverse connections around campus, so I can effectively represent a lot of different people’s opinions. In a group setting I try to keep an optimistic attitude and get [tasks] done quickly.”
Cats, be on the lookout for Natalie Merchant, Aileen Kwon and Owen Hess next school year and the amazing contributions they will make at West Ranch!
