When she was in ninth grade, Suri Choi (‘25) observed that the student body was quite disconnected from the people they chose as their elected representatives. It seemed that most students were unaware of what happened during StuCo meetings, what initiatives StuCo was working on, or even who the members of StuCo were. As a believer that the main role of student government is to act as a bridge between the student body and the ASIJ board, amplifying the voices of students and executing their will, Suri recognized that this disconnection was a problem. 

Then, as a freshman observer, and now, as a candidate for Student Body President, Suri has come to the conclusion that transparency between the student body and StuCo is the most important step forward. “It is only through transparency that we can get [the student body’s] opinions and can execute them in real life,” she said.

Since her realization in freshman year, Suri has been elected to StuCo for two years running and has also earned positions as a leader of both the Ambassadors’ Club and the Speech Club. Her combination of experience organizing class competitions for StuCo and running new student orientations for the Ambassador’s Club has given Suri a multifaceted understanding of what it means to be an ASIJ high school student—whether younger or older, new or returning. 

Suri’s goal is to empower every student to make the most of their four years in high school as they manage the balance of academics, a social life, and extracurricular activities. She says that StuCo can help students along that journey, but there needs to be more transparency to ensure that any assistance is well targeted and effective. 

In the past, Suri acknowledges that StuCo’s attempts to collect feedback through Google Forms were not as successful as hoped. Therefore, she says there is now an obvious need for a solid communication platform between the student body and student government. 

As manager of the official StuCo Instagram account for the class of ‘25 over the past two years, Suri has seen how—because of social media’s relevance today—information has been made more accessible to the junior class through stories and posts on this account than if it were provided through a different platform. She knows the power of social media as a forum for communication and believes it could effectively serve to bridge the existing gap between StuCo and the student body. 

Suri hopes that driving an effort for increased transparency will give students “the impression that [the] Student Council is there to help you and not to dictate you.”

“Let’s work together,” Suri said.