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Student-Led SMOB Convention Success Reflects Keen Organization and Student Engagement

April 25th, 2022

This year’s Student Member of the Board (SMOB) convention went off without a hitch, says Hannah Fang, chair of this year’s Howard County Association of Student Council’s (HCASC) Election Coordinating Committee (ECC). Held via Zoom on March 22, the convention brought together more than 130 student delegates from middle and high schools across the county to get to know nine students who had applied to be SMOB for the 2022-23 school year.

As in previous years, planning for this year’s convention began in the fall. Unlike previous years, however, major milestones in the planning process—including the assembly and distribution of the SMOB application—were delayed due to the revision of Board of Education Policy 2010 Student Representation, which establishes nomination and election procedures as well as the roles and responsibilities of the SMOB and student representatives.

“We really couldn’t dig into many of the details until January, which gave us only two months to figure out all the logistics of the convention, conduct delegate training, and ensure that middle and high school students across the county not only knew about the convention, but had a chance to have their voices heard,” explains Fang. “It made for a tight timeline, but we all pulled together, got focused, and got done what needed to get done in time for the convention.”

That said, there was still some uncertainty about how the actual day of the convention would go, says HCASC President Dhriti Vadlakonda, who, along with her fellow HCASC officers, also helped to prepare for the event.

“Because this year’s convention was virtual, there were a lot of technical elements to it,” she explains. “We had to verify that each student who asked to join the meeting was actually an HCPSS student; we had to create and manage breakout rooms for different groups to meet; we had to moderate different discussions and make sure that students weren’t speaking at the same time; and we had to be prepared to address any technical issues that delegates and SMOB applicants faced throughout the day.”

In addition, because students were attending the convention during the day from their home schools, arrangements had to be made for them to have dedicated space with dependable internet access.

This was easier said than done, according to Vadlakonda, as the availability of space varied by school.

“It definitely required a lot of coordination and flexibility, but, in the end, it all seemed to work out” she says. “We had [very few] technical or logistical glitches on the day of the event. It all went very smoothly.”

Matthew Sotomey, a Clarksville Middle School student and member of the EEC, was similarly pleased with how well the logistics of the convention came together.

“There were so many people there and so many activities happening throughout the day; it’s kind of amazing that everything worked so well. But I think the fact that things went as smoothly as they did speaks to the hard work and preparation we put in.”

Sotomey also cited high student engagement as evidence of the convention’s success.

“Throughout the day, we gave students many opportunities to interact with each other, and they really took advantage of them. They participated in our ice breaker activities and were quick to share their thoughts out loud and via the chat feature. To me, that showed that we’d done a good job of coming up with ways to keep them interested and engaged,” he says.

Vadlakonda agrees.

“We know that [convention] is a long day, and that it’s easy to get tired and lose focus. So, we built in a number of fun, structured activities where students could take breaks, chat with each other, and really get to know the candidates,” she says.

Overall, Fang says, this year’s convention exceeded her expectations.

“You never know quite how the convention is going to go–especially when you are trying to do it virtually,” she says. “But we put together a solid agenda and prepared ourselves as much as we could for the technical issues that might arise, and the end result was even better than I expected.”

Vadlakonda echoes Fang’s sentiments.

“This year’s convention was truly outstanding. The excitement, enthusiasm, and engagement of the delegates and the SMOB applicants was remarkable, and made the experience so satisfying for all of us who had worked behind the scenes to help pull the event together.”

HCASC Advisor Cindy Drummond also felt this year’s convention was a great success.

“There is so much to be proud of about the 2022 convention—the behind-the-scenes work and dedication of HCASC students planning, leading, and hosting the convention; the professional and collaborative way the delegates from all middle and high schools engaged in delegate training and the convention; the inspiring ways the nine SMOB applicants supported each other before, during, and after the convention,” she says. “It all came together beautifully, and set the stage for a positive, productive, and engaging campaign and election.”

The two final SMOB candidates —Abisola Ayoola and Oliver Song, both from Wilde Lake High School—were chosen at the convention and will face off in an election on May 4.

More information about the SMOB campaign and election process can be found on the HCASC website and through weekly Canvas messages sent through each school community.