The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

SGA Reflects on Year Thus Far

    Before becoming this year’s student government association, President Jake Karlin, Vice President Josh Brenits, Secretary Takunda Ndoro and Treasurer Santi De Paco, each had to run in the SGA elections held last year. They recalled how they felt during the month prior to the election.
    “I don’t think people realize just how much work actually goes into running for [the] SGA,” said Brenits. “The whole month, every night I would go to bed and just think about the election. The night before, I couldn’t go to sleep. But when I heard [last year’s SGA VP] Michael Li call my name … it was just such a surreal moment.”
    The four officers shared the feeling of excitement when they heard their names called on the announcements, but each had their own motivations for running that led up to that point.
    “I honestly ran because I think diversity is something [WJ] has in abundance,” said Ndoro. “I thought I was capable of what the job would entail, and I thought I could represent a minority demographic.”
    De Paco cites WJ’s welcoming atmosphere as his reason for running. His freshman year, De Paco moved to Maryland from Costa Rica and transferred to WJ. Although it was a completely new environment, he remembered that it was easy for him to feel like a part of the WJ community.
    “Even though I didn’t really speak the language, didn’t know anyone or how the culture was, it was just so easy to blend in,” said De Paco. “[Other WJ students] were so helpful and didn’t make me feel awkward. Also, I personally thought I had a lot of good ideas I could give to the school to make it more entertaining.”
    Each of the officers said that they have different qualities such as determination, organization and meticulousness that qualify them for their job. However, it was a unanimous agreement that school spirit is the most prominent reason why they are proud of representing the students.
    “We’ll see kids dressing up in the craziest outfits for spirit day, and they don’t care if they’re the only one in the school or everyone else is doing it,” said Karlin. “They just want to show support. And outside of WJ, at games, whether they’re at home or away, our fans are still louder than anyone else in the stadium.”
    While they enjoy their positions, the officers relay that being a part of the SGA can often be difficult and time-consuming.
    “Planning is definitely the most challenging,” said Ndoro.  
    They agreed that, lately, the homecoming movie has been their biggest priority and main source of stress.
    “We work really hard for these certain things, like the homecoming movie,” said Karlin.  “But once we finish it, we can take a step back and say we’re the ones who helped put this thing together and all the students are enjoying it. That’s what I think is the most enjoyable.”

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Claudia Nguyen, Print Editor-in-Chief
Now in her last year at WJ, Claudia Nguyen is one of the print editors-in-chief and business manager for The Pitch. She has loved being a part of The Pitch family for the past two years, and is grateful to be a part of it for a third and final year. During school, Claudia can be seen in the hallways making awkward faces with friends, bursting into song, and laughing, perhaps a bit too loudly. Although she is an avid reader and writer, Claudia also enjoys other activities including swimming, soccer, and playing covers of modern music on piano. On the weekends, Claudia is also a swim coach for young children at the FINS swim clinic.
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