The ASB class announced Aadhya Badrinath, Zoë Grant, Ava Malashock and Ruchika Villivalam as the freshman class cabinet for the school year. Though the sophomore, junior and senior cabinet members were selected through an election after a weeklong campaign last year, the freshman went through an alternate process.

Candidates submitted a written application for their position after which they were interviewed by a panel of judges consisting of ASB Class Advisor Jeffrey Kakes, class of 2027 cabinet advisors Eric Summers and Geoffrey Wen, along with the ASB cabinet.

“A reason we do it as an interview rather than an election, like we do with the other classes, is because since students have only been on campus for a few weeks, they haven’t had a chance to make any social connections,” Kakes said.“The kids who come from bigger schools have a major advantage because they’re known. This one is something that we realized a number of years ago and today it’s much more fair and gives students who are from smaller schools an actual opportunity.”

All of the members emphasized their interest in leadership, many mentioning their involvement in student government as early as elementary school. Villivalam, who went to McAuliffe Middle School served as the president and vice president of the student body during her time there.

“I like being involved in things and I like making a difference and just knowing what’s going on and helping out when I can,” Villivalam said.

With the supervision and leadership of their advisors, the four are responsible for planning and executing the plan for the Freshmen Rally at Homecoming, organizing student teams for events and contests such as Fremont Olympia, boosting participation in spirit weeks and generally representing the Freshmen Class while being in communication with them. With such a wide range of responsibilities, their position is a heavy time commitment.

“We plan to meet a lot during lunches, just whenever we can all get together,” Malashock said. “It’s a lot of work to plan something this fast because we’re behind all the rest of the cabinets.”

Aside from their responsibilities, the members also have personal goals for improving the freshman community at FHS. Grant, who was the student body president at Columbia Middle School, aims to increase student engagement to ensure that a greater part of the population feels satisfied by what the cabinet puts on for them.

“I just honestly want to make this year good for everyone,” Badrinath said.