Meet Your Sophomores-at-Large

Last week on Wednesday night, the sophomores and a few upperclassmen had the privilege of hearing five amazing speeches from five wonderful Sophomore-at-Large candidates. These sophomores have gone through weeks of a grueling selection process until two were chosen. Now that we have two brand new Sophomore @ Larges, I think it’s time we get to know them beyond a four minute speech. I conducted a short interview with Sophie Pribus (’20) and Ray Shang (’20) to learn more about them and what they plan to do for IMSA.

Q: If you had to compare yourself to one of your teachers, who would it be and why?

Ray: Dr. Hasler. He’s so chill and enjoys what he does. That’s something I really respect.

Sophie: Probably Don, because he takes science seriously not because of the grade, but rather the content. I’ve always striven to focus on the content rather than the grade. Science is so important to me, and the way he approaches science is more like philosophy, which is interesting to me. It reminds me of myself.

Q: What’s one interesting fact about yourself?

Ray: I potty-trained myself.

Sophie: I can only eat food in odd numbers.

Q: Why did you apply for Sophomore at-Large?

Ray: I applied for Sophomore-at-Large to take advantage of the opportunity to work with a group of extremely talented and competent peers, as well as to help improve the condition of my home for the next three years and future generations to come. I’m also looking forward to learning a lot from such a professional activity!

Sophie: I’ve been in a lot of leadership positions before, and I’ve always loved them in middle school and freshman year…and talking to Rebecca, who told me it was the best way to get involved with making change at IMSA…and I’m interested in making changes at IMSA and helping students. I know some students are afraid to voice their opinions, but I’m not afraid. So I’d like to help other people do that.

Q: What was the hardest part of the Sophomore at-Large selection process?

Ray: The hardest part to the Sophomore-at-Large process was staying true to myself. I had to remind myself to stay true to who I was when presenting myself. I had to stay true to myself and be my biggest supporter, despite what everyone else was saying. I had to stay true to myself even before applying to StudCo, when I had to consider whether or not it would be an activity I could be passionate about.

Sophie: The hardest part was trying not to get too competitive. I wanted to maintain a friendly nature with my competitors because I’m competitive, but I also knew the Student Council members were watching my interactions. I needed to control myself, and I wanted to maintain those friendships.

Q: What did you learn about yourself through the process?

Ray: I learned that I need to improve my ability of articulating my thoughts on the spot, which became clear during the interview process.

Sophie: I’m not good with spontaneous questions. I need time to think so that I don’t sound stupid. Particularly in the interview, and in the simulation where we had to answer questions, I was terrified.

Q: What are some hopes you have for Student Council this year?

Ray: This year I hope that more students will be aware and interested in what StudCo does. Myself personally, I hope that I’ll be able to bring some kind of productive student driven implementation to IMSA before the school year ends.

Sophie: For myself, I want to make sure that I live up to the promises I made in my speech and on a personal level. These are in mental health and club organization. I also want to encourage people to approach Student Council because people are afraid to talk to Student Council, but Student Council could use their opinions and ideas.

Q: What has been your favorite part of IMSA so far?

Ray: My favorite part of IMSA has been the new people I’ve met and simply being a part of a community full of motivated peers.

Sophie: The new social aspect. IMSA has a particular social life for me because in my previous school, I didn’t have many friends, but at IMSA, I feel at home. I’m not “unique,” and I feel that it’s less awkward.

~~~

These fresh and hopeful Sophomores at-Large are  here to represent your voices on campus this year, so do your best to get to know them whenever you get a chance (especially you, Class of 2020!). Hopefully this short interview gave you some insight into the minds of your two newest Student Council members.