Education News

Meet the Valley Stream Central High School District 2025 student reps who have a seat at the board table

This trio is tasked with keeping abreast on student needs for the Board of Education.

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Last fall, the Valley Stream Central High School District Board of Education introduced three new student liaisons for the 2024–2025 school year: Julianne Joseph from Central High School, Asha Gajraj from South High School, and Thomas Vendome from North High School.

This handpicked batch of academically accomplished and service-driven seniors is tasked with updating the board on school events during monthly meetings and airing student concerns from a student perspective — all while juggling their private lives and demanding course load.

The trio outlined their plans for the year, their motivation for leadership, and how they intend to represent their respective schools.

 

Valley Stream South High School - Asha Gajraj


Q: Why did you decide to take the position of student liaison?

Asha: “I’m really humbled to represent such a diverse student body and knowing so many different kids and age groups motivated me to reflect their students’ perspectives in the adult stage. Each school brings their own character and ideas and traditions to the table. We are a three-school district, not a one-school district, so having a representative from each school to share how they feel about their community and how we could work together to fix that is really a beautiful thing.”


Q: What are the most pressing topics or issues for students in your school?

Asha: “In terms of sharing what students think, every month liaisons come in with a monthly report. So far, we’ve been focusing on cultural diversity, academic success, and mental health. We don’t have any pressing issues, but I’d definitely want to focus on students’ mental health, specifically balancing academic hurdles with extracurriculars and sports. It can sometimes become a lot, but the school does a fantastic job.”


Q: Was there anything about the board’s procedures or functions that surprised you?

Asha: “There’s a lot of page-turning, and they have specific names for the different sections of the meeting that they call to order. And they always have to approve certain measures, so that took a little getting used to, but now I know the proper procedure for the general meetings and feel a lot more informed.”

 

Valley Stream Central High School - Julianne Joseph


Q: Why did you decide to take the position of student liaison?

Julianne: “When I hear about a student liaison bridging the gap between the students and board members, I was inspired to take on the role. I thinking having a student perspective is important for the [administrative] process.”


Q: What are the most pressing topics or issues for students in your school?

Julianne: “A lot of students complained that there is a 50/50 chance that there will be soap in the soap dispenser, so I think that could be regulated more and sometimes the sinks aren’t always working. So that’s issues that we’ve had but other than that I don’t really hear a lot of complaints.”


Q: How do you plan to get a good overall understanding of students’ needs across the different grade levels?

Julianne: “One thing that I love about Central is that the students are very open to expressing their concerns. I just assumed this position in October, so I haven’t done anything major, but I do plan on conducting survey questionnaires throughout the school and bring up the results of those questionnaires with the board. But Central is a great place and from what I do see, there’s not very much to complain about.”

 

Valley Stream North High School: Thomas Vendome 


Q: Why did you decide to take the position of student liaison?

Thomas: “I want to represent my school in a positive way for the Board of Education. When I was asked to do it, I was told I was a top choice because of how much you’ve done being a student mentor and tutor and your participation in national honor societies. I’ve been sitting with mom at Board of Education meetings since I was in fourth grade, fifth grade so I’m very familiar with the procedures.”


Q: What are the most pressing topics or issues for students in your school?

Thomas: “There are a few problems going on in our school, things we are trying to address. Vaping is one. We talked about [incorporating awareness of vaping] in our health classes. Improving our English as a Second language was another. So, we’re just trying to help people’s future. I don’t think one districtwide representative could do what the three of us are doing right now and we all know our respective schools. All three of us know, if there were something that’s like, seriously, really going on that’s very wrong, we would tell the school board or principals.”


Q: What do you hope to walk away with from the experience of serving as a student representative?

Thomas: “Definitely public speaking. I tend to stumble on words in front of large crowds. My dream job right now is to be a forensic psychologist, which means I would have to be an expert witness in court, so having public speaking would help with that. It’s a highlight of this position and to talk positively about my school even if in my dream job, I won’t be talking on things as positive.”

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