Experience |
I started JSA in my Freshman year after I attended Winter State 2017 as a guest of a nearby chapter. I was inspired by the incredible maturity of the delegates and the student leaders, and after a weekend of debate and conversations with other delegates, I decided to join JSA. I started the chapter at my school, Amador Valley, and convinced a few more people to go to Spring State 2017, where I heard about cabinet.
I applied for cabinet and was accepted as a logistics agent, which gave me good exposure into how conventions were planned, organized, and run. I was eager to help in any way possible and sought out any way I could assist my director. Midway through the year, the Director of Logistics moved to a higher position and I was chosen to take his spot. I was the DoL for the remainder of the 2017-2018 year, running the logistics department at Spring State. My 2017-18 cabinet experience greatly increased my knowledge of JSA and how our amazing conventions come to be.
Over the Summer, I was invited to the Montezuma Leadership Summit for rising leaders in NorCal JSA. In just the few days that I was there, I learned so much about JSA - the history of the organization, how it runs, how decisions get made, and how to be a better leader, just to name a few things. I also made some amazing friends and bonded with NorCal JSAers and JSAers from other JSA states, some of whom I would end up working with this past year. I also attended the Georgetown Summer Program in Washington, D.C. over this past summer, which really made me passionate about Summer School promotion. JSA Summer School is one of the greatest experiences you can have in JSA, and it was honestly a life-changer for me. I made many friends from all over the US who I still talk to everyday and will likely be friends with for life.
At the end of the summer, I was accepted as the Director of the Chapter Intelligence Agency for the 2018-19 school year. After CabCon, me and my team of initially five agents and one deputy started CIA work. As we headed into convention registration season, I slowly began to understand the level of responsibility that the position entails. All the work I had done and seen last year with conventions paled in comparison to the sheer complication of ensuring every chapter has the means (organizational, logistical, financial, etc.) to make it to a convention. If not, CIA had to be prepared to find solutions to any and all issues that arose for chapters. A last minute change in JSAF policy regarding chaperones made it infinitely more difficult for some chapters to get to Fall State, which was frustrating to see. Fortunately, we were able to work quickly to get more chapters district approved, and saw the highest Winter State attendance since 2015. Even that was close - 2015 had 478 attendees, and this years attendance was approximately 475. CIA has taught me so much about how JSA works, from how to fundraise for conventions to how every convention works in detail, from each activism initiative to the inner workings of JSAF. I've had to learn everything as a part of the job in order to effectively get every possible chapter to conventions, ensure their overall health, and assist cabinet in dispersing information to the whole state. I've helped establish many successful chapters this year and assisted their CPs in getting things off of the ground, including Woodside Priory H.S., California H.S., Buchanan H.S., Livermore H.S., and Dublin H.S. I've assisted innumerably more chapters in resolving and overcoming any obstacles that they've encountered.
All the while, I've been the Chapter President at my own school. Two years ago, only my friend and I attended Winter State. Last year the Amador Valley chapter brought seven delegates, and this year we brought 16. I've managed all the struggles of a Chapter President myself, and know the difficulties that face them like the back of my hand. Being a Chapter President and the Director of CIA has greatly expanded my ability to lead, help, and understand every person in the Northern California Junior State, and I believe my experience makes me the most qualified candidate for the job. I would be honored to have your support, and come Spring State, your vote.
I applied for cabinet and was accepted as a logistics agent, which gave me good exposure into how conventions were planned, organized, and run. I was eager to help in any way possible and sought out any way I could assist my director. Midway through the year, the Director of Logistics moved to a higher position and I was chosen to take his spot. I was the DoL for the remainder of the 2017-2018 year, running the logistics department at Spring State. My 2017-18 cabinet experience greatly increased my knowledge of JSA and how our amazing conventions come to be.
Over the Summer, I was invited to the Montezuma Leadership Summit for rising leaders in NorCal JSA. In just the few days that I was there, I learned so much about JSA - the history of the organization, how it runs, how decisions get made, and how to be a better leader, just to name a few things. I also made some amazing friends and bonded with NorCal JSAers and JSAers from other JSA states, some of whom I would end up working with this past year. I also attended the Georgetown Summer Program in Washington, D.C. over this past summer, which really made me passionate about Summer School promotion. JSA Summer School is one of the greatest experiences you can have in JSA, and it was honestly a life-changer for me. I made many friends from all over the US who I still talk to everyday and will likely be friends with for life.
At the end of the summer, I was accepted as the Director of the Chapter Intelligence Agency for the 2018-19 school year. After CabCon, me and my team of initially five agents and one deputy started CIA work. As we headed into convention registration season, I slowly began to understand the level of responsibility that the position entails. All the work I had done and seen last year with conventions paled in comparison to the sheer complication of ensuring every chapter has the means (organizational, logistical, financial, etc.) to make it to a convention. If not, CIA had to be prepared to find solutions to any and all issues that arose for chapters. A last minute change in JSAF policy regarding chaperones made it infinitely more difficult for some chapters to get to Fall State, which was frustrating to see. Fortunately, we were able to work quickly to get more chapters district approved, and saw the highest Winter State attendance since 2015. Even that was close - 2015 had 478 attendees, and this years attendance was approximately 475. CIA has taught me so much about how JSA works, from how to fundraise for conventions to how every convention works in detail, from each activism initiative to the inner workings of JSAF. I've had to learn everything as a part of the job in order to effectively get every possible chapter to conventions, ensure their overall health, and assist cabinet in dispersing information to the whole state. I've helped establish many successful chapters this year and assisted their CPs in getting things off of the ground, including Woodside Priory H.S., California H.S., Buchanan H.S., Livermore H.S., and Dublin H.S. I've assisted innumerably more chapters in resolving and overcoming any obstacles that they've encountered.
All the while, I've been the Chapter President at my own school. Two years ago, only my friend and I attended Winter State. Last year the Amador Valley chapter brought seven delegates, and this year we brought 16. I've managed all the struggles of a Chapter President myself, and know the difficulties that face them like the back of my hand. Being a Chapter President and the Director of CIA has greatly expanded my ability to lead, help, and understand every person in the Northern California Junior State, and I believe my experience makes me the most qualified candidate for the job. I would be honored to have your support, and come Spring State, your vote.