From Rejection to Leadership: Yicole Ng’s Journey to Secretary of StudCo

Introduction

IMSA’s Student Council (StudCo) has brought the Secretary role back into its ranks for the 2024-25 school year. The Acronym has compiled a list of questions to introduce the new Secretary, Yicole Ng (‘25). Here is what Yicole has to say about her plans for the future!

What are some of your strengths and weaknesses?

Yicole: I think I’m personally a very organized person. I’m very good at managing my time even though i’m in a lot of commitments. For example, I still manage my time and prioritize my academics while still being able to do the things that I’m passionate about. Also, I’m very goal oriented which I think helps with my productivity.

In terms of weaknesses, people tend to have high expectations for the Student Council, whether they are realistic or not. I feel like one of those expectations is for students to be the most outspoken and ideating person in the room. But, to be honest, I’ve sometimes found that I haven’t been either of those at times. I would describe myself as more of a ‘how to make things happen’ person instead of an ‘event planning’ person.

There are lots of different clubs at IMSA and even more leadership positions, which leads me to wonder… why Student Council?

Yicole: I remember when I first got to IMSA, I immediately wanted to do student council and focused too much energy on that and didn’t get in. What inspired me to keep going when I got to IMSA, even though I initially

A Snapshot from Yicole’s Public Secretary Video | Source: Yicole Ng

got rejected in that first round and even at my old school, was being recognized by someone that I had never met at my old school who was sad that I didn’t win the election. So I started thinking about how inspiring it was to meet my peers and make a bigger change, especially since IMSA’s Student Council is less about prom rather than other student councils, and more about policy changes. But the reason that I’ve decided to continue to be on Student Council is to create a tangible difference in my community. To be able to leave school and know that I helped at least one person through my legacy, no matter how small the problem, is what I really hope I’m able to tell myself on the day that I graduate and turn towards my future.

What can the student body expect from the Secretary this year? 

Yicole: Very, very nice bulletin boards to help StudCo create that bridge between us and the students that we represent. We’re also trying to create a newsletter to help update the student body, so IMSA can expect a lot more from StudCo next year!

As we know, the Secretary position within Student Council is a new one. From your perspective, do you think that decision will help students, and why?

Yicole: In the past, the duties that I have as the secretary were spread out among the entire Student Council. But it was hard to hold accountability for consistent communication and such because we were so reliant on project teams and having these duties spread out. I find that having them all combined into one position will help the Student Council and student body so that things are getting done, everything is visibly nice, and everything is accessible by everyone.

Which dimensions within StudCo do you think that IMSA’s new council is going to prioritize this year? What dimensions do you want to prioritize?

Yicole: Something that we have been saying over and over again, at least as long as I have been at IMSA, is the communication aspect with students. I find that the communication issue is not just to the student body, but within the council itself, due to it being a really big commitment.  Another thing that I want to be able to prioritize is being able to tell the student body valid reasons as to why some of their ideas are sometimes just a bit unreasonable, especially since a lot goes on behind the scenes.A dimension that I worked on last year was the student health and the mental health committee which was really cool. This year, I plan on continuing and improving that as well!

If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be? 

Yicole: Ambitious, Empathy, Organization.

Who is someone you look up to, and why?

Yicole: I want to give a shoutout to my big sib, Jojo! I hope she sees this article. To be honest, we didn’t talk a lot but she is someone I’ve looked up to for a while. Her kindness was extremely memorable on our first encounter. Even though she worked so hard and joined so many clubs, you could tell how passionate she was about her interests like music. I have so much respect for her because she’s so ambitious and managed to turn her passions into something that she can do in the future!