Connor Lam, President
Class of 2025 Representative Foothill High School Connor is a junior at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, California. He has been serving SIAC since 2018, Connor is the National Ambassador for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and was recognized for the Youth Leadership Award by the Alameda County Tobacco Control Coalition for his active engagement in implementing anti-tobacco policies at the local and state levels. In 2019, he chaired an anti-vaping committee which led to the passing of ordinances in Pleasanton. This year, Connor led and organized a press event to celebrate the 2-year anniversary of Tobacco Retail License (TRL) and to provide updates on lower rates of youth vaping. As a student representative of various PUSD Executive Leadership Committees, he envisions an effective and timely execution of SIAC projects. Connor spends his free time playing basketball with friends, practicing the guitar, and hanging out with his younger siblings. Brandon Huynh, Vice President Class of 2024 Representative Amador Valley High School Brandon is a senior at Amador Valley High School and this will be his fourth year with SIAC. He is proud to be representing the student body through his efforts here with the council. One of his main goals within SIAC is to ensure that information discussed by district and administrative officials is accessible to the general student population. Interaction and engagement between the community and the district is one of Brandon’s top priorities; students should not feel “left out” of administrative-level information and discussions simply because they feel that district officials are out of reach. Brandon is looking forward to the accomplishments that PUSD will achieve in the coming year. Aditya Dawar, Secretary Class of 2024 Representative Amador Valley High School Aditya is a junior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California. He participates in clubs like Mock Trial and Technology Student Association. When he's not studying or participating in clubs, he enjoys reading, biking with his friends, and rock climbing. As SIAC Secretary, Aditya hopes to streamline communication between students & the district and increase SIAC's outreach. He is looking forward to all the initiatives SIAC can accomplish in the coming year! Emma Chang, Communications Organizer Class of 2025 Representative Amador Valley High School Emma is a junior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California. In school, she competes in Science Olympiad and Science Bowl in addition to being a part of her school’s EFM committee. Furthermore, she plays and competes in music with the viola and piano at a statewide and national level, respectively. Outside of school, she enjoys reading southern gothic novels and baking cookies and cakes for her friends and family. As Communications Organizer, she hopes to effectively expand SIAC's reach to help spread important district information and address student concerns to create a safer environment for all. Moreover, she aspires to bridge the gap between schools and SIAC in order to better inform fellow classmates about the work SIAC is doing and how they can be involved as well. Hayden Caty, Events Organizer Class of 2024 Representative Amador Valley High School Joseph Li, Vice President Class of 2024 Representative Amador Valley High School
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Connor Lam, President Class of 2025 Representative Foothill High School Connor is a sophomore at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, California. He has been serving SIAC since 2018, Connor is the National Ambassador for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and was recognized for the Youth Leadership Award by the Alameda County Tobacco Control Coalition for his active engagement in implementing anti-tobacco policies at the local and state levels. In 2019, he chaired an anti-vaping committee which led to the passing of ordinances in Pleasanton. This year, Connor led and designed the 2-year anniversary of Tobacco Retail License (TRL) press event. As a student representative of various PUSD Executive Leadership Committees, he envisions an effective and timely execution of SIAC projects. Connor spends his free time playing basketball with friends, practicing the guitar, and hanging out with his younger siblings. Simran Pandey, Vice President Class of 2023 Representative Amador Valley High School Simran is a senior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California. This will be her third year on SIAC, and she's incredibly excited to empower the students in PUSD this year! Outside of school, you can find her preparing speeches for Mock Trial, volunteering with local organizations, and working to better understand local politics. In her free time, she loves reading, watching Marvel movies, and listening to music. As Vice President, she hopes to work to seamlessly incorporate the vision of the students with the vision of district admin in order to amplify everyone's voices and bring new ideas to the table. Aditya Dawar, Secretary Class of 2024 Representative Amador Valley High School Aditya is a junior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California. He participates in clubs like Mock Trial and Technology Student Association. When he's not studying or participating in clubs, he enjoys reading, biking with his friends, and rock climbing. As SIAC Secretary, Aditya hopes to streamline communication between students & the district and increase SIAC's outreach. He is looking forward to all the initiatives SIAC can accomplish in the coming year! Brandon Huynh, Outreach Officer Class of 2024 Representative Amador Valley High School Brandon is a junior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California. This will be his third year as a SIAC member. In school, his time is dedicated to various clubs on campus, the Amador orchestra as a violinist and bassist, and Science Olympiad. His goal is to create an inclusive and diverse atmosphere in SIAC while cementing its influence in district decisions. Given his position, Brandon hopes to uphold the SIAC ideal of empowering students of various grades and differing perspectives in order to support new leaders in the community. Tho Nguyen, Communications Liaison Class of 2023 Representative Amador Valley High School Tho is a senior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California. In school, she competes in Science Olympiad, leads Amador Writers Ensemble, and plays clarinet in the marching band. In her free time, she can be found scribbling a poem, reading webcomics, and stress baking. As Communications Liaison, she hopes to expand SIAC's reach so it can more effectively address student needs in the community, and nurture partnerships with local student organizations. Connor Lam, Communications OrganizerConnor Lam is a 7th grader at Harvest Park MS who enjoys mentoring and bringing people together. As an Associated Student Body (ASB)/Leadership Representative, he initiated a blog and a survey to encourage everyone to make suggestions. Connor envisions an environment where everyone is included. Additionally, he is currently a Mentor for TriValley Coderdojo, where he coaches computer programming and solves technical issues. In the summer, he formed a Lit Circle Club to motivate kids to collaborate while reading. In Elementary School, he organized a Chess Tournament because rain caused boredom during lunch breaks. Everyone enjoyed playing chess, but every day is not a rainy day so Connor had yet another idea. He invited coaches, players, and referees for a Basketball Series. The series was a success and the games continued through Middle school. In his free time, he likes playing card games, discussing politics as well as conspiracy theories, and competing in Hackathons. Savannah Soto, JournalistSavannah is currently a sophomore at Foothill high school. She has worked on the Foothill High School yearbook staff team and she is a member of Foothills art club. Although this is only her second year being apart of the SIAC team, she hopes to bring detailed and accurate stories to her audience. During her free time, she likes to travel with her family and write. In fact, she spent a portion of her summer at a journalism program in Palo Alto, CA. She is very excited to use the skills she was taught during that time for the upcoming school year. By Nicole Zhang / President of SIAC SIAC members were invited by the Alameda County Office of Education to organize an interactive activity at the Youth Action Summit, which took place on May 2nd this year from 3:30-7 PM at the Ashland REACH Youth Center in San Leandro. The Youth Action Summit was an opportunity for student groups across Alameda County to learn about how other students are getting involved and making a positive difference in their communities. For our interactive activity, we created a mental health and wellness trivia game. We asked questions such as, “What percentage of teens experience depression before adulthood?” and “What is a cause of chronic stress?” To award high-scoring participants, we gave students packs of seeds so that they could plant vegetables and flowers in school or community gardens in keeping with the theme of improving our communities. In addition to the trivia game, we also created a poster with the phrase “Why Student Voice Matters” in the middle. Students made powerful statements about the importance of student voice, and it was evident that all the students at the summit were taking actions to improve their schools and communities. SIAC members also had the opportunity to participate in other group’s activities, and we were inspired by the work our peers from other school districts are doing to promote healthy eating, sustainability, wellness, and more.
By Saumya Monga / SIAC Journalist On August 5, 2017, this year’s SIAC members met at Amador to start off a wonderful year. We began the meeting with our usual mindfulness minute, a time for all members to meditate in order to start off the meeting with positivity. After discussing a little bit of what is to come, we started bonding activities, creating a welcoming environment for both new and old members. Some of the games included Two Truths and a Lie, Commonalities, and I Love My Neighbor Who. People really connected through the several community building games we played. After the games, Nicole, the SIAC President, explained the different district committees that students would have the opportunity to serve on including the new Health and Human Growth Committee. Abhishek Bhatt expresses his enthusiasm to join district meetings, “I am really looking forward to being part of the DCLC committee this year, not only to provide suggestions but also to get an understanding about the steps our districts take to determine curriculum.” The different district committees allow students to make a direct impact in several aspects of their education. We moved along with introducing the African American Family Network (AAFN), an organization providing support to African American students in the PUSD. Joey Mauro believes “the AAFN will help us connect to more students because it can give students who participate in the AAFN a bigger, more united voice in our school system that administrators and others will listen to.” We are also excited to welcome Mr. Bull to Foothill and to further develop the SIAC website. Cassidy Cheng said “I’m most excited about working with and presenting to the teachers and staff because that allows for us to make an even more profound impact in our community.” By working together with members of our community, we can make a difference. We are very excited to make more improvements in our education and give more students a voice in the Pleasanton Unified School District!
Nicole Zhang, President
Fiona DeBernardi, Vice President
Katherine Delevaux, Secretary
Huda Rahhal, Events Organizer
Alibi August, Communications Organizer
Saumya Monga, Journalist
By Nicole Zhang / Co-President of SIAC On April 24, 2017, SIAC members met with Shamia Sandles, a representative from the Alameda County Office of Education. During the meeting, representatives shared SIAC's work with Ms. Sandles and learned about the Youth Action Initiative that the Alameda County Superintendent Ms. L Karen Monroe had launched in January. Ms. Sandles invited SIAC members to attend the Youth Action Summit, which took place on May 3, 2017. Next year, SIAC plans to organize a workshop at the Youth Action Summit. The council will continue to take part in the Youth Action Initiative and update the ACOE on our activities, accomplishments, and aspirations.
For more information about the Youth Action Initiative, visit https://www.acoe.org/Page/440. By Nicole Zhang / Co-President of SIAC SIAC members attended Common Core Implementation meetings with teachers and school district members during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school year to work on implementing Common Core district-wide. SIAC students provided valuable insight to the committee. The committee invited SIAC members to give a presentation about the council's work. After the presentation, members of the Common Core Implementation meeting commended the council members for their work and also asked questions.
By Nicole Zhang / Co-President of SIAC Today, SIAC representatives presented to business leaders in our community about student involvement and our council's work in the PUSD. In the presentation, members talked about the purpose and vision of SIAC, the council's past accomplishments, current projects, and plans for the future. Presenters enjoyed the experience, and the business leaders asked questions and shared positive comments at the end of the presentation.
Nicole Zhang, Co-President
Samantha Corpuz, Co-President
Sahil Sagar, Vice President
Fiona Debernardi, Historian
Lauren Milligan, Events Organizer
Hanci Lei, Communications Organizer
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