Two new officers are serving on the Associated Student Body at Palo Alto High School after an election late last month.

Freshman president Julian Hong and vice president Kennedy Do were elected from among 11 different candidates, according to sophomore vice president Sophia Kim.

Julian Hong

Hong gained experience in student government last year, when he attended Taipei American School and served as class executive last year. He moved to Taiwan temporarily during the pandemic because school at Taipei American School was in-person.

According to Hong, he participated in Model United Nations and competitive basketball and volleyball, where his volleyball team ranked fifth in the nation.

“That experience of working with a close team makes me uniquely qualified to run or participate in student government,” Hong said. 

Hong said he hopes to give Paly freshmen a “real voice”. One way he plans to do this is through the creation of an anonymous Google Form where students can convey their thoughts directly to the student government. 

According to Hong, students can look forward to more sports events and other competitions with him in office. He said he is considering adding sports competitions during PRIME and lunch for students who finish homework early or don’t need to talk to teachers. For students who are not as interested in athletics, Hong said he would create other types of competitions like chess and League of Legends. 

“We can host sports tournaments to help build a more inclusive sports environment Paly to include everyone more involved in team bonding,” Hong said.

Kennedy Do

Do’s love for student government began at a young age, when she was elected as secretary of her elementary school, Stratford, in fourth grade. In fifth and sixth grade, she was elected as vice president and president.

Do said her passion for leadership and previous experience lead her to run for ASB.

“I ran for ASB because I really have a strong passion for leadership and I think that sprouted when I was around like fourth grade, maybe because that’s when I held my first leadership position,” Do said. “Ever since then I’ve held several positions and made decisions.”

Similarly to Hong, Do said she wanted to add more athletic events on the Quad to get students to bond over. Some activities included class competitions, faculty versus student competitions, and other new activities.

Recently, Do has been planning Spirit Week with Hong. She said the two of them are hearing input from various students through an online poll and reaching out to students on social media to encourage them to build the class float.

Do said emphasizing student representation was an important part of her leadership.

“In addition to planning many social bonding events, I hope to make each student feel their voices will be heard and that their opinions and concerns matter,” Do said. “Julian and I are here to represent our entire class and that means we are committed to advocating for our class, advancing class wishes and finding ways to resolve student concerns.”