Name: Chantel Martino
Grade Level: 9th
Years In Leadership: 1

Officer Position

Vice President – 9th Grade

Activities/Sports/Clubs/Etc

Key Club – 9th Grade
Filipino Club – 9th Grade

Community Service

Community Holiday (Inside School) – 9th Grade
Breakfast with Santa (Applebee’s, Inside School) – 9th Grade
Operation Christmas Child (Church, Outside School, Inside School) – 9th Grade
Children’s Ministry (Church, Outside School) – 9th Grade

Other important characteristics about me:

I am a leader, not a boss; I work with others, not tell them what to do. I am a team player and enjoy working together with others. I am a hard worker and put maximum effort in all that I do. I am an active listener, considering the ideas of others as well as deliver my own through collaboration. I also am creative, coming up with unique ideas through the use of teamwork. I am a good communicator; I don’t hesitate to help someone if they need help and am always open to answering questions or giving advice.

How do you plan to stay connected to students to make sure their voices are heard?

I believe that it is crucial that each and every student here in Armijo deserves to have their voices heard and their ideas put into consideration. The majority of students have access to a form of social media, and I think if each class of Armijo (e.g. C/O 2021, 2020, and so forth)had a Twitter or Instagram account, we would be able to reach out to students we may or may not know and be able to hear each individual class’ ideas. We could also put a suggestion box as a Google form on the Armijo school website and be able to listen to the opinions of others and how they believe we can improve our school or events. This way, if certain people don’t feel courageous enough to share their opinion verbally, they can share it directly to us online, even if it may be anonymous.

What, in your opinion, are the three most important issues facing students at Armijo High School and how will you address them?

I believe the first issue facing students at Armijo High School is the lack of safety reparations. Safety is one of my biggest concerns for the students here at Armijo. We have been taught what to do during earthquake drills as well as fire drills. However, if we were to say there was an intruder who could possibly be a threat, the students would not know what to do. I recommend to have a school wide assembly as well as have drills in case there were an intruder, showing possible escapes as well as what we are to do if the intruder is near or far from us.

The second issue I believe students face at Armijo is attendance. Many students come late to class or commit truancies. I tend to see students out of class, but there are no campus monitors or staff to make them go to class. In result, I think we should get more campus monitors to walk around campus and enforce the tardy policy. If a student is caught tardy at least ten minutes without a pass after class, they should not be left unattended and should instead be directed to their class or to the office. Tardiness should not be tolerated, and action needs to be taken.

The last issue I believe students face is their mental health. Many students have problems in their lives, whether it is academically, socially, or at home. In response to this, I think the school should have an assembly regarding the topic, though it may be sensitive. This can help prevent anything wrong from happening towards the students in our campus. We should also create an anonymous bullying/problem form in which counselors are able to respond to; this will allow students to gain advice from a different perspective without having to feel ashamed through approaching someone who knows them.

What are your top priorities for the position you hold?

I want to ensure that the students of Armijo High School have their voices be heard and are secure at all times. I want to be able to improve our campus, whether it is the campus atmosphere or its physical attributes. The students in our campus all have diverse ideas, and many of the leadership students do not see in the same perspective that they do. Of course, since we are putting on the events, we do not always see the cons to them nor do we know if we are doing an adequate job at promoting them. It is my ambition for everyone’s ideas to be known and considered because the ideas of those in the program are just as important as theirs. Consequently, I want to serve my school and put others before myself, doing all I can to help them feel safe and important, shining the spotlight on them and reaching out.