Kickstarting their high school careers, some of Diamond Bar High School’s most ambitious freshmen took initiative to run for a position on their class officer board. Following the tradition of previous years, the first-year students were presented with this leadership opportunity during their first month on campus.
Throughout the intense week of campaign and eventual election, the freshmen officer candidates presented their peers with a multitude of creative promotional tactics and their hard-earned qualifications to gain support.
The election concluded successfully with Jon Wong elected as President, Lucas Lee as Vice President, Christie Shaw as Secretary and Treasurer, Angela Cho as Social Chairperson and Mackenzie Wong as Historian. The five Brahmas will lead the class of 2027 through the 2023-2024 school year.
Wong, who had been Associated Student Body president in eighth grade, revealed that he found success through incorporating humor into his campaign.
“I did a Barbie themed flyer and it was a funny way to get the word out to people,” Wong said. “I could have created better incentives for voting, though. I thought our class needed a leader that would represent them and make a change.”
On the other hand, Shaw had no campaigning experience prior to this one. She did not know what to expect during the election’s preliminary stages and took some time to ease into a proper campaign.
“The long and complicated process combined with the thought of putting myself out there in front of the entire school made me very unsure of whether to go for it or not,” Shaw said. “I questioned myself a lot and thought about dropping out many times.”
Though she was faced with mental obstacles, Shaw pushed through the campaign and utilized engaging props to promote herself, a decision that led to her eventual win.
“I feel like my campaign was successful, but I didn’t start campaigning until Wednesday, September 13,” Shaw said. “I thought running for officer would be a great way for me to step out of my comfort zone and start my high school experience off right.”
As she heads into office, she expects to gain more leadership knowledge and confidence.
Both underclassmen had big goals for the school year ahead. Wong, specifically, wanted to create a community without competition. He envisioned a space where his peers would uplift each other on the road to success rather than bring them down.
In a similar fashion, Shaw’s priority was ensuring that the class of 2027 stayed connected and united, core values she thought were worth spreading to her class.
“Communication and keeping an open mind are very important qualities,” Shaw said. “Something I hope to accomplish with this new role is to get to know the class I’m spending my next four years with better and to make new connections.”
