Meet Freddy and Emmen
By Laura Galbes
Emmen (left) and Freddy (right).
The Voice got the opportunity to hear more about what each President and Vice President pair hopes to accomplish if elected. Among them is Freddy Tanz and Emmen Loh.
Get to know them:
Freddy is a Senior who has been a part of the Student Council for 3 years, two as a grade level representative, and last year as secretary. Freddy said he’s “very grateful for the opportunity to run for president.” Not only has he been involved in leadership, but he is also involved in a number of clubs around the school, such as being part of the Varsity Basketball team last year. His running partner, Emmen, is in 11th grade and has a multitude of leadership experience, including 2 years as student ambassador as well as 2 years as grade level representative. He’s “really excited to be running with Freddy as vice president.” Like Freddy, Emmen is also involved in a number of clubs, and played basketball as a part of the JV team last year.
Why are they running for these positions?
Both candidates highlight how Student Council is a place for change, where the voice of all students is valuable as they know “there are various problems and all students have ideas to give” -Emmen. Freddy wants to be a voice for all students, and mentioned that over the past years he has “been able to really understand what people want, and I try to be as open to ideas as possible.” With his past experience in the Student Council he has been very involved and dedicated to helping it run as efficiently as possible. Freddy now looks to be president “in order to provide solutions for students problems and help ideas come to reality.” They both advocate for a school environment that is enjoyable for everybody, and believe that all students should “know about what the Student Council is doing, creating and inviting more opportunities for students to give feedback that we can act on” -Emmen.
Work ethic in a team setting:
“I want to motivate others and push people to do their best.”
Both Freddy and Emmen describe themselves as strong leaders, especially due to their past experiences not only in StuCo but also as captains of their respective club teams. Their leadership is rooted in communication, where they want everyone to be heard and have a voice ensuring they are “working hard and committed to facilitating change” -Emmen.
Changes they hope to implement:
Freddy and Emmen have consistently highlighted their commitment to listening to student voices in order to achieve change. They believe students deserve to know what the Student Council is doing, which is why the first change they will implement are weekly or monthly updates “to make finding out what Student Council is doing as easy as possible” -Freddy. Through platforms like bear essentials and emails, students will always know what they are up to, “your feedback will be used, and we will show that we are listening” -Freddy. Furthermore, they want school to have a balance of fun activities to boost school spirit, “like spirit weeks and assemblies” -Emmen. This also includes other activities such as: mentoring students in the IB, helping out incoming 11th graders, and fixing other issues in the school that affect the students on a larger scale. Last year in StuCo they heard all of our concerns, they know that for many, the current lunch schedule isn't working. They have already started to work with administration and staff to explore how we can make the situation better where all students feel more happier with lunch at ISA.
Freddy and Emmen are “extremely grateful for the opportunity to run, and look forward to the election.” Feel free to reach out if you want to know more. You can email them at: 26freddyt19@isa.nl and 27emmenl22@isa.nl or find them at school!
