ASB announced on Aug. 26 that the freshman class had elected Makena Ho as president and Cherise Zheng as vice president.

Ho said she decided to run for class president because of her leadership experience. She served on Greene Middle School’s student council for three years, including as the president last year. Ho said she wants to create more opportunities for freshmen to connect with one another.

“I really want to make Paly a fun place for students,” Ho said. “I want to have more events and get everybody into the school spirit, because it’s a big thing here.”

Zheng said she ran for vice president with the goal of making a large impact on the Class of 2029.

“My goal is to make everyone feel connected to one another,” Zheng said. “I want to make Spirit Week and other rallies really fun.”

Ho also said campaigning gave her a chance to connect with new classmates.

“During my campaign, I was working on opening up to new people,” Ho said. “But then (it was) also about talking to the people that I (already knew).”

Zheng agreed and said campaigning pushed her to meet more of her peers.

“I opened up to a lot of people and went out of my comfort zone,” Zheng said.

This year, Ho said she is looking forward to getting to know more students and learning about what they want from their ASB while planning events.

“I’m really excited for spirit week and our rallies and chants,” Ho said.

Many freshmen are looking forward to participating in the events and activities planned by the new ASB leaders. Freshman Marcus Valdez said that he has enjoyed school events such as the shaved ice social, and is looking forward to future events organized by ASB.

“I hope our ninth-grade ASB can achieve their goals,” Valdez said. “They can help our community become stronger and more united.”