President – Cameron Iizuka

Cameron Iizuka (She/Her)

• Why should a student, who has potentially never met or interacted with you, vote for you?

Even if we’ve never met, I want every student to know they have value and are valid, and I hope that they can see just how passionate I am about our school, and more importantly, the people in it. 

• Why did you choose to apply for this position, specifically?

I see that we can be doing more in terms of senate power (to bring more power and voice to the student body), in terms of clubs and student involvement (to get more students excited about changing our community for the better and hopefully less obsessed about only grades and test scores), and in terms of community outreach and bringing more services like mental health, LGBTQ+ and drug & alcohol education to our student body.

• What sets you apart from the other candidates?

All three of us have the experience for the position, but what makes me different is my specific approach to create COVID-19 precautionary measures and promote transparency between ASB, the administration, and the student body. I know that it’s a very real possibility that we will be back in quarantine during the flu-season, and that it’s only possible for us to continue with clubs, senate, and school traditions if we prepare backup plans in the event we must take everything virtual again, and that process starts with better communication, more opportunities for student input, and increasing student outreach to have more students outside of leadership involved in these conversations. 

• How would students know that you’re willing to put in the work for our school?

Leadership is a very flexible class where you more-or-less get an A for showing up to a couple mandatory events, but I’m not doing any of this for an « easy A ». My past three years in the class and my consistency for putting on new events —whether creating March Memeness and continuing to run it even through quarantine, creating the Swag Swap last year where students could buy or sell clothes and sneakers from other students, or adding more interesting parts to assemblies this year with musical chairs, singing performances, and an amped up version of Family Feud from last year— all show my immense dedication and passion for servant leadership. 

• What are your greatest weaknesses regarding your position/leadership? How will you work to combat that? Conversely, what are your greatest strengths regarding your position/leadership? How will you use that to your advantage?

My greatest weakness would be how I tend to procrastinate my work when I know I have more time to get it done, but in this I’ve learned how to prioritize agenda items in a more organized way and delegate roles so it’s easier to manage and get done as soon as possible. As well, if elected, I’ll be working this summer with the rest of ASB to plan out the school year down to the day for all school dances, assemblies, carnivals, and other fun activities to plan how we’ll prepare for another round of quarantine and focus on those bigger events, as well as more spontaneous ones as the year goes on. 

While I may project myself to be a very charismatic and affable person, at heart, I’m a much more introverted quiet kid. I understand what it’s like to feel voiceless and apathetic, even when I should feel spirited. From this, I’ve learned the importance of listening to people, truly listening, and I want to take that skill and try to help others on a school-wide level. I want to have bigger conversations with students about what issues we are all facing and how ASB and the administration can provide services to help all of us, and do more than just make posters. 

• What do you think makes a good leader?

A good leader is someone who is prepared to sacrifice their own happiness and time for the sake of others, and, in that, they are ready to be vulnerable and offer a piece of themselves to the world in an attempt to make it better. 

• What would you like to convey about yourself that the applications on loelections.com didn’t allow you to?

I don’t think I have a limit to what I’ll do for the student body. Truly, I’m okay with being the only one that dresses up for a spirit day or the only one cheering at a sports game. Even if I need to stay up until 4:00 a.m. to perfect an assembly script and then be at the school two hours later to rehearse it, I’m okay with that. I’m willing to do anything for this school and even if that means I embarrass myself or practice unhealthy sleeping habits, I’ll be there to make things be as great as they can be, no matter what. 

• Is there anything else you would like to say to students reading this?

If students ever have a question for me about the school, ASB, or anything at all, I will answer it as honestly as I can. If anyone ever needs to get hold of me, even if we don’t know each other, please don’t hesitate to text or call at 503-901-0270.