Officer Spotlight: Secretary Queen Balina

Queen Balina, a senior at Churchill HS, serves as MCR’s secretary for the 2021-2022 school year. The current school year marks Balina’s second year in MCR-SGA. Last year she worked as a press deputy where she wrote stories from a range of topics: underrepresentation of the Northeast Consortium, MCPS conflict prevention scheduling, and recap articles.

This year, as secretary, she controls the correspondence and communications aspects within the organization as well as plan the meetings and appoint new members. Furthermore, Balina works hand in hand with the outreach coordinators and webmasters to ensure that MCR’s efforts reach as many students as possible.

Balina keeps three main goals in mind: prioritizing student voice through ample amounts of student advocacy, expanding outreach, and increasing accessibility. The representation and inclusion of all MCPS high school students in advocacy seems to be at the forefront of Balina’s plans for the year. “To claim that MCR represents all 50,000 students in all 25 high schools means listening to our diverse countywide student body and enacting the changes that they want to see,” said MCR secretary Queen Balina.

Balina claims that her favorite thing about MCR is the passion that each person carries on. The representation of a diverse community flourishes through the drive that each person has to enhance our community. Specifically, Balina’s favorite MCR project is the summer workshop series which illustrates the wide scope of issues MCR strives to combat. The workshops are a great opportunity to interact with students and discuss important variables in student advocacy.

As if it weren’t enough, Balina also interns for the MCPS Student Well-Being and Achievement Team where she works in the Division of Restorative Justice and School Counseling.

Although MCR is her second home, Queen is also actively engaged in empowering her local community through being a part of Youth-Council for PeachJam Mid-Atlantic, and she is the co-founder of Sankofa Empowering Women in Ghana.

Most people may not know that Balina is the Editor-in-Chief for Churchill’s yearbook Finest Hours. She loves interviewing students and staff members and documenting the highs and lows of the school year. She has been on staff all four years of high school, working her way to the position of Editor-in-Chief.

Taylor Swift is among Queen’s favorite musical artists, “Her lyricism is outstandingly poetic and well-thought-out, and the intensity of emotions conveyed in songs is stunning,” said Balina. Like many others, Queen has been listening to the ten-minute version of “All Too Well” ever since it was released.

Although virtual, Balina looks forward to connecting with new executive board members and working on the small steps to achieve a greater purpose for the MCPS community.

Written by Isabella Amador

Published by PR Department