Meet the SMOB and the MCR-SGA Officers for the Upcoming School Year

As the upcoming school year is approaching, the student advocacy world in Montgomery County is now up and running. To prepare for the eventful year ahead, in the month of April, several student elections were held, and in the summer, these elected student leaders were sworn into their positions. These positions include the student member of the board of education (the SMOB), who was elected by all MCPS middle and high schoolers and will serve on the Board of Education with full voting rights, as well as the MCR-SGA president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer, who were elected by MCR-SGA executive board members and delegates from each MCPS high school.

The election for the 2023-2024 SMOB was held on April 17th, where Sami Saeed won, earning 70% of the votes over the other SMOB finalist, Yoseph Zerihun. Some of Sami’s essential policies that he plans to implement next year include a focus on mental health, school safety, the growing opportunity gap, and a more streamlined effort on environmental advocacy. A few of Sami’s innovative focuses include curriculum reform and transportation equity.

In the MCR-SGA presidential elections, Anusha Krishnan ran unopposed. Krishnan, a junior at Poolesville High School, served as the MCR treasurer for the 2022-2023 school year. In her campaign speech, she proposed implementing a mentor program to teach MCR-SGA workshops, increasing opportunities like advocacy day for students to speak with legislators, and utilizing the MCR-SGA Youtube channel.

For vice president, Praneel Suvarna, a sophomore at Clarksburg High School was elected. Praneel previously served as an environmental task course coordinator for MCR-SGA. In his speech at the general assembly, he spoke about engaging students in opportunities such as the MASC convention, community outreach, and sending out newsletters to MCPS schools.

Nico D’Orazio was elected MCR-SGA treasurer. D'Orazio, a junior at Wootton High School spoke in his speech about connecting students with legislators and bringing them to meetings. D’Orazio previously served as an Education Policy deputy and is a chief of staff for Board of Education member Lynne Harris.

Sophie Nguyen was elected MCR-SGA secretary and is currently a sophomore at Rockville High School. Nguyen speaks much about her involvement in MCR and plans to ensure that all high schoolers learn about the advocacy group. Along with planning to involve more students in MCR, Nguyen wants to create month-long advocacy programs to really ensure that new advocates are getting the full experience.

As the 2023-2024 year is approaching rapidly, the term for these newly elected leaders is soon to begin. New advocates can certainly look out for more information on how to stay up-to-date with student advocacy from these five elects. It is simply an understatement to say that a great year is upcoming with these five student leaders.

Written by Allison J. Khani and Aditya Kumar

Published by the MCR-SGA Communications Department