Southridge School

Why did you want to become a School Captain?
I’ve loved being a part of the Southridge community for the past twelve years - to say it’s like a second home seems like an understatement! Every friendship, sports team, class, or school trip I’ve been a part of has shaped me as a person, and being school captain will allow me to give back to this place that means so much to me. I hope to be someone that younger students can look up to, and help show them that Southridge will be a place where they can find what makes their spirits soar! My goal this year is to contribute to making Southridge a place full of positivity - somewhere where everyone will feel safe and look forward to waking up and going to school each morning - and I will do whatever it takes to make this atmosphere a reality!

What are you hoping to accomplish in this role? 
This year, I want to make sure that everyone feels like they have a voice, and that they know they are an integral part of the Southridge community. As a leader, I will take the ideas and opinions of the student body and do my best to set them to action. I also want to see more school spirit!! Whether it be sports games, plays, or art exhibitions, events such as these are such a great way to come together as a school, and support the unique talents present at Southridge!

What do you see as the strengths of Southridge?
Whenever I think of Southridge, what first comes to mind is how tight knit our community is. Having a small number of students in each grade allows us to get to know one another personally- not only could I tell you the name of each person in our grade, but I also know the names of most people’s siblings, what month they were born, and at least one other odd tidbit of information or interesting fact. This in turn has helped to create a very trusting environment of people who are willing to help one another when needed!

I also think Southridge does a wonderful job of raising students who are comfortable with their own voice through the Harkness learning approach. Students have the freedom to voice their own opinions and learn from the perspectives of their classmates, allowing them to grow as learners and explore who they are as an individual.

What would you like to change at Southridge?
I want to see Southridge become a more accepting place where everyone feels respected for who they are, through incorporating more celebrations of diversity. I also think it is important that we acknowledge the talents of the students here, and I hope to contribute to this by finding new ways to recognize student achievements. In turn, this will hopefully encourage younger students to find what makes their spirit soar, and promote a positive school environment!

What’s been the highlight of your time here at Southridge so far?
Having been here practically my whole life, it is nearly impossible to choose just one memory as my favorite! I could mention the grade bonding at Strathcona, or the volleyball trip to Anaheim, but at the end of the day it really boils down to just one thing: the people. The best memories I made were a result of all the little moments spent with amazing people. Whether it be through group discussions in AP lang, advisory pictionary competitions, or early morning basketball practices, my favorite anecdotes come from laughs shared with my friends, teachers, or coaches over the years.

What do you want your peers to know about you coming into this role?
If I had to give new students one piece of advice it would simply be “try everything”. Sign up for every club, try out for every sports team, and even if it doesn’t end up being your true passion, you willl make so many memories along the way, you will be glad you did it. Many people say that “a jack of all trades is a master of none” but often forget the second half of the quote, which is actually “but oftentimes better than a master of one”. For anyone out there that has ever stressed about finding their one true calling, by no means do you have to. And for me, that's part of the school motto, let every spirit soar, that has never been stressed enough. Letting our spirits soar is not just about finding the one thing that you are good at, it's about finding what makes you happy, and discovering all the little amazing things that make you, you!

Why did you want to become a School Captain?
My story starts when I first applied for the position of grade 10 representative: I have only been a Southridge student for around one month, and the only reason I applied then was because I thought it would be hilarious if a newcomer (who knew nothing about the position) won. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, I did not win. Later that year, I applied for the house captain position for the same reason and got straight up cut from the ballot.

My attitude changed as I spent more time in the school and fell in love with the place. When I applied and got elected as a grade 11 representative, I committed to it and tried my best to bring a fun year to my grade. As I enjoyed that role, I became close with a fellow theatre student Suvaan. Supporting him during his School Captain campaign and seeing him doing his duty after being elected was inspiring. I have wanted to run for School Captain since then, and I believe I would have a lot of fun with the role as I help others and make our school community tighter than ever.

What are you hoping to accomplish in this role?
I hope my School Captain story conveys the message that everyone can make a difference. If Jimmy- this silly international student who came to the school in grade 10, and started running for leadership positions as a joke- can do it, everyone in the school can.

I will spend my term encouraging everyone in the school to step up. By being a lighthearted and friendly School Captain, I wish to show everyone that speaking out at our school is not stressful at all. It is great to see students who are usually shy gather up the courage to go onstage to recognize a cultural holiday meaningful to them, read a personalized land acknowledgment, or announce the start of a new initiative. I think all of us are tired of seeing the same faces during assemblies all the time, and it is up to us to change it. I believe everyone in the school is talented, so why not step up and share those talents with everyone?

The community at Southridge is hands down the best thing about it. I have thought that ever since the first step I took inside the school: the amount of welcome I received here when I first came was incredible. As someone who has been to other high schools, I can assure you that the students here are the kindest and the most approachable; the teachers are the most caring and friendly. With a community like this, we can have safer and more inclusive learning environments. We are also able to create more opportunities for students in athletics, arts, academics, and service. At Southridge, students feel encouraged to try new things because they know the entire community will have their backs.

 

Although I wasn’t here at Southridge before the start of the pandemic and do not know what the “old days” were like, I could still feel the lingering effects of the lockdown now that things are returning to normal. Students often express that they found the rules at the school to have been more rigorous and strict compared to during the pandemic and are opting for more freedom. The teachers, being somewhat the opposite, feel that many have lacked the same discipline and the respect for tradition Southridge students used to have before COVID-19 and want to crack down on more rule breakers. I will use my role as a liaison between those two perspectives and help create initiatives and rules by taking advice from both students and teachers. I believe there is a way to allow all students to have fun in the school while being respectful to our Southridge traditions.

 

I absolutely love school events. Relay for Life, Snowball, Country Fair, Poetry Night, Movie Night, etc., are all incredible events. If I had to pick one, the Strathcona trip I had in grade 10 has to be it. Yes, the room was crowded with five boys. Yes, we all stank. Yes, we fought for showers and food. And yes, the activities were exhausting, but the experience was once of a lifetime. The trip created countless fond memories such as eating the best food ever after finishing the intense mountain biking, cuddling with the boys for warmth under the tent we built, mountain climbing under heavy rain, and encouraging each other to overcome our fears. Every challenge we went through was worth it because real bonds were made. I strongly encourage everyone to attend as many school events as possible. You will not regret it!

 

If you want to know more about me, just reach out. I am just another Southridge student like you and I’ll be there listening when you need me.