As the West Ranch school year began, the freshman class officers for 2024-2025 were selected. Of the freshmen who ran, Madison Paek won the position of president while Rachael An won the position as vice president. 

 From making posters to using social media, the candidates found creative ways of spreading the word for their campaign. Paek used clever wording in her poster as well as Instagram posts to promote herself; “It was very advertisement heavy,” she emphasized.  

   While Paek mostly campaigned through making posters, An had a different approach as she “made funny reels and Instagram posts to campaign” in order to gain the position. She also mentioned that the videos helped her since they allowed her to reach her audience in a fun and creative way.

   Paek expressed her excitement to continue ASB, as she had also done ASB in eighth grade. She “has a genuine passion for it” and is determined to contribute to the school community.    

   West Ranch ASB director, Mrs Priske, also shared her excitement for the new school year in regards to the new freshmen: “I feel like this freshman class has been more participatory. They are participating and there were more freshmen than we’ve ever had at the Homecoming dance.” She continued by mentioning, “They’re just very present on campus and very participating, so I think it’s amazing.”

   As the freshman vice president, An’s goals this year are to “help make fundraisers for our freshman class” and help Paek by giving her ideas for different fundraisers. She also hopes that the freshmen can come up to her and feel comfortable enough to ask questions and provide ideas. 

   Being an officer requires various skills including leadership and cooperation. An emphasized her creative personality that allows her to be open-minded to new ideas. She wants to provide help for the freshmen and allow the school to be a friendlier environment: “I’m always ready to give [students] some real thought and not just automatically say no, and I also try to go the extra mile and double and triple check work and anything that I do for ASB.” 

   After being chosen for freshmen president and freshmen vice president, Paek and An have worked together to come up with ideas for the school year. An expressed that they “recently have been going back and forth on fundraising ideas” so that they can raise money for more events for the freshman class. The two officers are excited to work with each other as they have been close friends since eighth grade; They hope to have fun working together this school year.

   Cats, make sure to look out for Madison Paek and Rachael An throughout the school year and everything that they will do for the freshman class!