On Dec. 8, Lane officially announced the seven freshmen who won their contests to this year represent the Class of 2024 on the Student Council: Andrew Bonilla, Student Council Executive Board vice president; Sean Groh, president; Megan Wong, vice president; Huma Ughratdar, secretary; Shumei Gong, David Schmidt, Sahana Singh, senators.

This body serves as a vital conduit between the freshman class and the administration and is formally tasked with planning class and school-wide events, and reporting feedback from students to the administration.

The Warrior conducted an interview with each of the winners aimed at helping first-year students become familiar with their representatives. The Warrior asked the same questions to every winner to ensure objectivity, save some follow-up questions, which we tailored to the particular interview. The Warrior’s Editorial Board did not endorse any candidate in the field.

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

EXECUTIVE BOARD VICE PRESIDENT – ANDREW BONILLA, DIV. 454

Students in this position are charged with acting as a conduit between their class and the Executive Board, supporting and participating in Student Council initiatives, and ultimately helping plan all school activities.

• Why did you choose to attend Lane?

“I chose Lane because it’s close to where I live, and my sister goes here, so I already knew about the large, diverse and strong community that Lane has. The big push was definitely the opportunity for me to express my passion for programming and technology and have the opportunities of a rigorous curriculum.”

• What’s your favorite thing about Lane, despite not having entered the building as a student?

“I would say my favorite thing about Lane [is] both the academic opportunities available, as well as the chance to meet many different people and build strong bonds with them. I love all the sports activities and clubs here. I do cross country — it’s the first time I’m doing any physical activity really ever. I don’t really like sports, but it was really fun, and I hope with time I can make some good memories in a little bit of everything.”

• What motivated you to run for office?

“I ran because of a lot of things. I wanted to get more involved in the school. I felt that I was educated enough and had the resources and drive to be a Student Council member. I understand the importance of listening to those around you and taking in what they say. I thought that if I ran, I could incorporate those values into the school.”

• What event, idea, policy, etc. would you most like to put into action at Lane, either in a virtual setting or in-person?

“First, I’d like to say that I’m still learning a lot about my limitations as the [freshman] vice president of the executive board and of what I can contribute. Right now, my goal is to learn more about those sort of things by asking the older members of the board. What I plan to do after I get accustomed to everything is to establish more communication, especially to freshmen, because as a freshman, I feel like it’s easier to get confused. I want to use my social media to create a platform that can keep everyone up to date with current events and clarify any confusion that my classmates and I have. I feel like I can contribute a lot of informing people and clarifying issues or confusion that they might have with certain things. For events, I’m really open to events that people have because I want to incorporate as much as I can my classmates into what I do and I want to incorporate issues in our community, incorporate good things, bad [things], in order to best represent freshmen and to improve our time here even if it’s all online.”

• What is something that you would do to change or improve e-learning?

“There’s a lack of communication, sort of. I want to help students feel like they have a say. A lot of my friends are always saying they have issues with certain classes. They’re kind of saying, ‘I feel like I’m doing bad in this class, and I want to talk to my teacher about it, but I’m scared. I want to talk to my teacher about it, but I don’t know what to say.’ And a lot of the time, I feel like if I didn’t have my sister [who attends the school] or the resources that I have, I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of the things I do to succeed in all of my classes, and I want to share this kind of information, these tips, and keep everyone up to date with what Lane is telling us, and give us freshmen the best possible experience here without a lot of struggles.”

• To clarify, you want to improve communication specifically in the virtual landscape?

“I guess specifically, since we can’t really see our teachers in person and it’s a lot of online stuff, I’m thinking more about asking my older classmates inside of the executive board and also the administration about what I can do to have more time for students and teachers to talk to each other. We’re missing a lot of that time we could have after class to ask a question, and during class, too, and sometimes it’s kind of scary to email a teacher. Sometimes it’s hard for them to respond. And I want to be able to tell the school about the struggles a freshman has during these times, especially with a lack of communication.”

CLASS OF 2024 PRESIDENT – SEAN GROH, DIV. 479

Students in this position are charged with coordinating meeting dates and times; facilitating all meetings; and holding other class officers accountable for their duties.

• Why did you choose to attend Lane?

“It’s really been passed down family generation-wise. My grandpa went there, my uncle went there, and then my mom went there, so I kind of decided to follow in their footsteps. And then, of course, too, Lane is such a great school, as well. It’s such a historic building. It’s the largest public school in Chicago. And I just really like the history behind it, too.”

• What is your favorite thing about Lane, despite not having not entered the building as a student?

“I would definitely say the atmosphere and the students. My classmates, they’re amazing, they’re supportive. They really helped me get here today. But I would definitely say, too, the building, the history. It’s an amazing place. Lane is one of the best high schools in Chicago and I’m so happy to be here.”

• What’s your favorite thing about Lane, despite not having entered the building as a student?

“I’m usually a person that likes to go back to school. I feel like I can learn both ways, remote learning and in-person. While I do have a preference to be in-person, I feel like we’ve all changed over remote learning and we’ve all adapted in some way or form to this pandemic. And a lot of people struggle with making friends, like socially, it’s harder for them and it was harder for me, too, when going into Lane. But when we go into the building, I feel like it’s going to be much easier for everyone, learning-wise and socially.

• What motivated you to run for office?

“I’ve always been interested in student government and politics. So I felt that running for Lane’s Student Council, I could bring something to the table and bring representation to Lane Tech. While I haven’t been here yet, I’m really excited to start getting to work and helping change our school in better ways.”

• What event, idea, policy, etc. would you most like to put into action at Lane, either in a virtual setting or in-person?

“It’d definitely have to be hearing student voices. My Student Council, I think we can all agree on one thing, that we need to hear students’ representation and we want to hear their opinions, too, on how to make the school better. I really liked the forming of the BIPOC Board, as it helps create presentations for advisory day on BLM, and I’m really looking forward to working with them and helping them create more slides for advisory on Black Lives Matter. And also, too, with the Muslim Club addressing the situation in China right now where these one million Uighurs have been interned since 2017 in concentration camps, so I just really want to work with them to spread awareness on these crucial topics students need to be aware of.”

• What is something that you would do to change or improve e-learning?

“I want to make some sort of thing where students are able to come together and express the difficulties of remote learning, and I want teachers and Principal Tennison to join and hear about the remote learning difficulties that students have been experiencing because everyone’s experiencing some sort of trouble with remote learning. And I especially like Myrtle and Gold Day, as it has been a great opportunity for students to catch up, relax and also have one-on-one time with their teachers to focus and get back on track with remote learning.”

CLASS OF 2024 VICE PRESIDENT – MEGAN WONG, DIV. 474

Students in this position are charged with assisting and supporting the class president and encouraging class participation in all school initiatives and activities.

• Why did you choose to attend Lane?

“I wanted to go to Lane as long as I can remember. My parents actually met there; my brother’s a graduate there; and I have another brother that attends Lane with me now.”

• What’s your favorite thing about Lane, despite not having entered the building as a student?

“I really love the school spirit. Just hearing stories from my siblings, I can’t wait for things like [the] pep rally and spirit week. That just seems really fun.”

• What motivated you to run for office?

“I ran for vice president because I want to be an advocate for the freshman class. I want people to feel as if they can come to me to help and raise awareness of their problems.”

• What event, idea, policy, etc. would you most like to put into action at Lane, either in a virtual setting or in-person?

“One of my main goals is to help unite the freshman class because we’re going to be together for the next three and a half years, but due to COVID, we haven’t really met each other, so I think it’s really important that when everything is safe again that we organize something in place of the Freshman Connection that we never had, so that we can actually meet each other and be acquainted with one another.”

• What is something that you would do to change or improve e-learning?

“I think everything is okay now; we have a good start with the Myrtle and Gold Days. It gives us students a good break for our mental health and it’s really nice to catch up on work and actually look back on what we’re learning, so I guess as we get more Myrtle and Gold Days, we can see what else we need.”

CLASS OF 2024 SECRETARY – HUMA UGHRATDAR, DIV. 471

Students in this position are charged with taking notes and minutes on all minutes, communicating dates and reminders to class officers and encouraging and participating in all school initiatives and activities.

• Why did you choose to attend Lane?

“It’s actually an interesting story. I didn’t really know about Lane until I got to sixth grade and I had a teacher who actually went to Lane for four years, and she told me a lot of things about it, so I just fell in love with the diversity and just the communication that people have over here, and also the passion and determination not only in education, but in sports and arts and everything, and I felt like that was the perfect fit for me.”

• What is your favorite thing about Lane, despite not having not entered the building as a student?

“I was actually pretty shocked because all my teachers were so kind and so understanding. Not saying I didn’t have those kinds of teachers before, but they just made us all feel welcome right from the start. And also, I really love my English class because they’re the most fun people I’ve ever met. They always crack jokes but also learn at the same time, and it’s just a fun, loving environment.”

• What motivated you to run for office?

“I had a similar program at my last school, Mary Peterson. It wasn’t exactly like Student Council; it was called Cultural Ambassadors. We organized plans and meetings and events in general. When I came to Lane and heard about the Student Council, I was actually interested in running because I not only wanted to bring my experience, but also I learned from previous experiences that that’s how you get involved with the school, that’s how you meet new people, and I really needed that since [school] was online.”

• What event, idea, policy, etc. would you most like to put into action at Lane, either in a virtual setting or in-person?

“I was actually thinking about doing maybe like a gingerbread contest. I’m not sure if that’s a thing anymore, but at my last school, we used to do this winter wonderland thing where we used to bring in gingerbread houses and make them, and I felt like that would be really cool. I would also like to help with International Night because it’s a big event and I love learning about other cultures and religions, especially as I’ve learned in AP Human Geography.”

• What is something that you would do to change or improve e-learning?

“I’d like to start off by saying that Lane has already done a wonderful job in separating each class by ten minutes and adding the Myrtle and Gold Day; I thought that was a great success for a lot of students. There’s usually assignments that the teachers give out, and then they just work in silence for the rest of the time, so perhaps the teachers letting the kids go and letting them do the assignment on their own and submitting it, because some kids finish earlier than other kids, and then they’re just waiting or staring at the screen for the rest of the time.”

• Is there anything you’d like to add?

“I just wanted to address that I know that a lot of other candidates are on the same plans or similar ones, where they want to talk and address and work with the BIPOC community and addressing and spreading awareness about BLM [Black Lives Matter] and also MLM [Muslim Lives Matter] and just climate change in general.”

CLASS OF 2024 SENATORS

Students in this position are charged with serving as a liaison between the Student Council and their class, as well as encouraging and participating in all school initiatives and activities.

SHUMEI GONG, DIV. 450

• Why did you choose to attend Lane?

“I should preface this by saying that I was in LTAC, too, so I was offered a seat at Lane without having to do the selective enrollment test. A main reason why I chose to stay at Lane even though I took the test was because I thought that the transfer between going to a new school would probably be a lot more difficult if I chose a different school since there would be a lot of admissions stuff and getting to know the building again, as well as transportation-wise, Lane would be a lot closer than, say, Whitney or Jones or Payton. I also really liked how the building was situated. The campus is beautiful. There’s so many trees and it’s so amazing in the fall with all the different colors. The teachers I’ve encountered are all very nice and they’re very willing to work with their students, even giving one-on-one time to help tutor and improve our grades.”

• What’s your favorite thing about Lane?

“My favorite thing about Lane is probably the library and the writing center because they have definitely saved my grade several times by allowing me to print my work there, especially the librarians and [Ms. Cramarosso, the writing center director]. They’ve all been very helpful in allowing me to rush in and out, sometimes not even needing to pay a quarter or something to print, which is always super helpful if this assignment is a ‘you need to turn it in, print it out, or else you will get a zero.’”

• What is your favorite thing about Lane in the virtual setting?

“In the virtual setting, it’s a lot more difficult now, I would say, but I like how available the teachers are. You just need to send them an email or a Google Chat and they’ll reply pretty quickly, and they’re always going to answer any questions.”

• What motivated you to run for office?

“I wanted to run for office because since we’re all virtual, it’s really hard to get to know your classmates, especially as a freshman, so I wanted to let all of the other freshmen reach out to someone if they needed someone to talk to or raise up any questions or ideas that they had, and I just wanted to be there for them.”

• What event, idea, policy, etc. would you most like to put into action at Lane, either in a virtual setting or in-person?

“Going on the sense that we have not really had any connection with each other, I would like to do maybe some sort of remote group video call to get to know each other where you can maybe list your interests and have other people come to meet you. And if we do go back — hopefully — we can do what was sort of the orientation, but on a different level where we can get to know each other more, rather than the school.”

• What is something that you would do to change or improve e-learning?

“I think Mr. Tennison is doing a great job with allowing us to have the Myrtle and Gold Days, and cutting down the screetime by proposing that all teachers give us a ten minute break at the end with our asynchronous time. I would probably want to enforce that a little harder since I know that not all teachers are giving everyone this ten minute asynchronous time, and while I understand that some teachers need to get the information out to us, I still feel like it’s really important for us to have those ten minutes of asynchronous time.”

• Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I’m always here. [Students] can always reach out to me if you want.

DAVID SCHMIDT, DIV. 479

• Why did you choose to attend Lane?

“Well, I chose to attend Lane because it’s a pretty prestigious school, I know a lot of people here and I honestly think it’s the best move going forward with my career I want to choose.”

• What’s your favorite thing about Lane, despite not having entered the building as a student?

“My favorite thing about Lane so far is its adaptability with the whole online learning. They were able to adapt very quickly and get a classroom schedule going on.”

• What motivated you to run for office?

“In my previous school, I’d been a part of the Student Council for three straight years, so I really just enjoy helping out the community, getting to know people, being involved. The Lane Student Council seemed like the next best thing to get involved with the community.”

• What event, idea, policy, etc. would you most like to put into action at Lane, either in a virtual setting or in-person?

“I would want to make sure that all students are being treated fairly, there’s no sexism, racism, any discrimination against any people based on religion, sex, any of that. I want to make sure it’s a more peaceful area.”

• Do you have any concrete notions about what you would try to enact to make that happen?

“I know that I want to keep my email open so that if any students have any concerns, if something’s going on that they’re feeling uncomfortable about, I’m always willing to to talk about it with them and bring it up with the rest of the Council if needed. I also want to make sure that we could get some sort of events going on, even though it’s online learning and we have to be careful still — see if there’s at least something that we could do for the student body, because [class is] pretty stressful.”

• What is something that you would do to change or improve e-learning?

“I would say the workload. Just talking from personal experience and along with a few other of my friends that I know in Lane, the workload can get pretty stressful sometimes with it being e-learning and there’s just a bunch of stuff going not only school-wise, but private life-wise, and I’d want to make sure the workload is manageable for the [student] body.”

SAHANA SINGH, DIV. 468

• Why did you choose to attend Lane?

“I think the biggest things for me were I had heard so many good things about it from alumni that used to go to my grade school. A lot of times, the kids who had graduated would come back and talk to us about where they go to high school, what’s it like, how their classes are, and I had heard so many positive things about Lane and the teachers and the clubs and the programs, and so when it came time to look at high schools, I did the tour at Lane, and I loved it. The students who were helping me were really great. I loved the building, all the classrooms. It was just a great experience.”

• What’s your favorite thing about Lane, despite not having entered the building as a student?

“Since we are remote right now, I think my favorite thing would just be getting on call every day and just seeing my classmates and my teachers, because it does make it feel a little bit more real, even though we are online.”

• What motivated you to run for office?

“The biggest reason why I ran for office was because I wanted to get more involved at Lane, especially because I am a freshman and I am new to the school. Being on Student Council, you get to meet a lot of great people and you get to work with school administrators and I just think that’s a really great opportunity to get around and just get involved with the school and the teachers.”

• What event, idea, policy, etc. would you most like to put into action at Lane, either in a virtual setting or in-person?

“Speaking right now, one of my goals is I really want everyone to feel more united in our time at home isolated. I really want to maintain student connection because right now, of course, we’re all separated and it’s hard to feel like we are one together. I definitely want to feel more connected, and I also want to help people feel relieved of their workload.”

• How would you go about maintaining this connection or increasing the sense of community?

“Some of the ideas I was thinking were you could put up class surveys or online game nights or movies for students to feel more connected, and I think it’s a great opportunity, especially for freshmen, to meet each other.”

• What is something that you would do to change or improve e-learning?

“Along with the heavy workload, that also takes a toll on mental health and stress and at this time right now, those emotions are heightened for a lot of people at home and so one of the things I want to do is maybe have a daily check-in where you can fill out a survey or there can be something in the newspaper about how you’re doing, how your classes are going, if you have any concerns. My big other point would be Myrtle and Gold Days. We have had one so far, and I think it was really successful; I think kids all showed up to their classes, and it was just a really great day to check in with your teachers and just get a break from staring at the screen.”