Four APs, three extracurriculars, winner of two national competitions, playing an instrument… Many students check all these boxes on their ASB application. While they are impressive achievements, these qualifications cannot distinguish applicants without being accompanied by unique aspects of their personality on the applications.
Whether it be by campaigning for elections or through the questions on the appointed application, the purpose of the ASB appointment process is to showcase the applicant’s personality and skills, rather than a list of broad accomplishments. Throughout the application process, students are asked about their passions and goals in an effort to elicit unique responses, and this portion of the application often plays a large role in determining selection.
“I think eight out of 10 people said the generic ‘giving back to the community’ or ‘helping people,’ but then one person said that she was passionate about food and that is who we chose,” ASB advisor Jennifer Petrosian said. “Just anything, something that gives insight to your personality and isn’t just a canned answer that’s what you think we want to hear.”
Applications for appointed positions help the ASB president and Petrosian better understand the applicant’s personality through an interview, essay responses and letters of recommendation in order to find a position best suited for the students’ capabilities, interest and personality.
“I actually started out running for junior vice president, but that didn’t work out and I went out for community, then somewhere along the way we figured out that I was a better fit for clubs,” clubs commissioner junior Lily Ye said. “I think the part of the application that made them see me as a club commissioner rather than in community is the role I was willing to take on and how I was interacting with people, which is a big part of the position.”
Upon submitting the initial application for ASB, a student’s interactions with their teachers and staff and their actions around campus are used to evaluate if they are suitable for ASB. The application process itself is an example of the commitments that come with the leadership role.
“Something that I learned in the application process that is true to ASB is that forward planning is absolutely necessary,” athletics commissioner senior TJ Navarro said. “Making your campaign posters and the publicity of your campaign and actually answering questions during Election Convention kind of simulates the stress and work of having a regular ASB event.”
Leadership experience is an aspect of an applicant’s resume that can distinguish them among candidates, and one that ASB often favors during the application process.
“I always say to get involved some way, and it’s the reason we do applications in this order,” Petrosian said. “If ASB doesn’t work out for you, you can try Link Crew or class council. You can always find a way to get a leadership role and gain that experience.”
Elected positions, on the other hand, rely on the preferences of students, which makes a student’s campaign important in helping others determine their personality. According to Petrosian, the goal of the election process is to help students understand more about the candidates and to prompt applicants to promote changes they can fulfill such as school spirit, communication and events during their campaign. Even if a student doesn’t win, running for elected positions can improve chances of winning an appointed position as it showcases persistence and dedication to ASB.
Be sure to check out @nhstwolves for more info on appointed applications, which will be released on April 5.