Sophomore Soleil Cotton and junior Adam Fujiwara were nominated as next year’s ASB Athletic Commissioners on March 29 after five rounds of voting at Election Convention, receiving the highest number of votes in their pool from freshmen, sophomore and junior Student Forum representatives. Cotton and Fujiwara sat down with The Howler to discuss their motivations and future plans for the position.

Victor Chang: What responsibilities do athletic commissioners hold?

Adam Fujiwara: Soleil and I will be responsible for publicizing our athletics programs, like creating and sustaining programs such as captains council and various social media accounts to make sure every athlete feels represented at school. We will also plan Senior Nights for every sport and work to increase student attendance to our sporting events, home and (hopefully!!) away. 

VC: Why did you decide to apply?

Soleil Cotton: I decided to apply because I have always been involved with sports here at NHS and I really love getting to know my fellow athletes. I was also really motivated by one of my teammates, Sophie Grossman, who inspired me to go for the position.

AF: I decided to run for the position because I’ve been involved in sports since my freshman year. By playing baseball and football, I’ve felt really connected to our school. I truly think of my teams as family and saw sports as more of a community, so I wanted to make sure every athlete felt the same way. I never thought about representing our athletics programs on ASB until this year, to be honest. But the more I thought about it, the more passionate I became about representing our prestigious athletics programs here at Northwood, which was a huge factor in why I ran.

VC: How did you feel when you got the position?

SC: I was beyond happy when I won because all of my campaigning and hard work paid off. However, I was very surprised when I won because I was up against some very tough competition. 

AF: As soon as I got the position, I was ecstatic, ready to get working with Soleil and ready to work with such a great group of people on ASB. I’m excited to not only fill the responsibilities of Boys’ Athletics Commissioner, but to step outside of my position to help create a great environment at school.

VC: What does this position mean to you?

SC: This position means everything to me as it allows me to give back to the NHS athletics program as they have done so much for me. It also means so much that I get the opportunity to get to know and support all of my fellow athletes here at Northwood.

AF: This position means the world to me. I’m excited to have the opportunity to be a leader of my school, and to make our athletic programs a greater factor of our school’s identity.

VC: What are your visions for next year?

SC: To get as much recognition for all Northwood sports. Adam and I both want to create much more hype around sports on campus and to get as many people to come to the Games of The Week. Our goal is to have the best student section in all of OC.

AF: Next year, I plan to create an athletics Instagram page which reports the scores of each and every sport’s event, match, or game. Major contributors and leaders will be interviewed to give them an opportunity to publicize their contributions to the team and what their team means to them on a larger-scale platform and for their peers to recognize the hard work they put in to make their team great!

Cotton and Fujiwara have already spent a great amount of time and effort in Northwood’s athletic program. Next year, they are looking to help give Northwood athletes some of the most fulfilling high school experiences and memories.