Niki Nguyen, ASB President 2020-2021
October ASB Report
Niki Nguyen
ASB President
10/5/20
Position Assessment:
Throughout the month of September, I have been working on Fearless Friday posts, freshman class t-shirt sales, and Fall Fest activities. For the Instagram posts for Fearless Friday, students from Ripon High would be showcased overcoming a fear and how it changed them overall. I have been actively involved as the representative for the freshman in terms of rank and support. Some examples of this include helping with tshirt distribution, providing insight and advice on leadership activities, as well as making myself as available to them as I can. One way I was able to demonstrate my role as ASB president was when I was given the opportunity to take over a zoom call meeting and applied the facilitative leadership skills I had previously learned to the discussion. We came up with a theme and four solid ideas for our first ever Fallfest week. In addition, I will be working with Morty and tech to announce the candidates and winners of the Fallfest court through an Instagram Live. I will be picking up the candidate pumpkins as well and decorating them for the King and Queen of Fallfest. My hope is to create some sort of script or practice with Morty prior to our “coronation” so that I could be as spirited as I can be to represent the school.
Professional Development:
More common than not, I have found myself having to break the awkward silence in zoom call breakout rooms because people were either too shy or didn’t care enough to speak. This helped to develop my leadership skills as I was forced to be professional and be the first one to speak up. I knew that unless I took the initiative to start off the conversation, nothing would get done and time would be wasted. One example of this was during our Core Camp check in when we were put into breakout rooms to discuss what we’ve been up to at our schools. After what seemed to be an eternity of silence and awkward stares, I unmuted myself and offered to share the idea of Fallfest to the others in the Zoom. I then had to ask people questions in order for them to start feeling comfortable with sharing. This experience has taught me to overcome my fear of being judged by others and set the example so that they would feel comfortable to follow.
Concerns/change:
I am still upset that we are not back in school. I miss the atmosphere of leadership students debating on events in class, making fun of Morty’s wonky leggings, and bonding with one another face to face. Human interaction is something that we have taken for granted and didn’t realize it until it was too late. The beginning and ends of Zoom calls are always the most fun because people just talk as if we were in class again. I wish there was another way that we could all see each other while respecting social distancing protocol...
Positive comment:
As the rank and support for the freshman representatives, I am beyond impressed by each individual and their dedication to the program. Although this year hasn’t been what they expected, they are always willing to put in the most effort towards leadership. What I’ve noticed about this group is that they do things immediately and do not wait until the last minute. Devin is especially good at this! Although it has only been a month, I have enjoyed seeing them open up to me and the class, becoming more and more involved with class discussions and other events. I can't wait to see what they end up coming up with for Fallfest.
My Impact:
One way I have been trying to make the world a better place has been starting to organize a health care drive through the Sacramento Vietnamese Healthcare Association. I reached out to the leadership board and pitched my idea and it is now approved! I am currently researching specific Sacramento homeless shelters that will collect these Covid care packages. Although this didn’t seem like that great of a feat, I was proud of my ability to lead the class in a zoom discussion when we were struggling to come together as a team. As I said above, I was proud of what we were able to accomplish and the unity we had as a leadership class.
ASB President
10/5/20
Position Assessment:
Throughout the month of September, I have been working on Fearless Friday posts, freshman class t-shirt sales, and Fall Fest activities. For the Instagram posts for Fearless Friday, students from Ripon High would be showcased overcoming a fear and how it changed them overall. I have been actively involved as the representative for the freshman in terms of rank and support. Some examples of this include helping with tshirt distribution, providing insight and advice on leadership activities, as well as making myself as available to them as I can. One way I was able to demonstrate my role as ASB president was when I was given the opportunity to take over a zoom call meeting and applied the facilitative leadership skills I had previously learned to the discussion. We came up with a theme and four solid ideas for our first ever Fallfest week. In addition, I will be working with Morty and tech to announce the candidates and winners of the Fallfest court through an Instagram Live. I will be picking up the candidate pumpkins as well and decorating them for the King and Queen of Fallfest. My hope is to create some sort of script or practice with Morty prior to our “coronation” so that I could be as spirited as I can be to represent the school.
Professional Development:
More common than not, I have found myself having to break the awkward silence in zoom call breakout rooms because people were either too shy or didn’t care enough to speak. This helped to develop my leadership skills as I was forced to be professional and be the first one to speak up. I knew that unless I took the initiative to start off the conversation, nothing would get done and time would be wasted. One example of this was during our Core Camp check in when we were put into breakout rooms to discuss what we’ve been up to at our schools. After what seemed to be an eternity of silence and awkward stares, I unmuted myself and offered to share the idea of Fallfest to the others in the Zoom. I then had to ask people questions in order for them to start feeling comfortable with sharing. This experience has taught me to overcome my fear of being judged by others and set the example so that they would feel comfortable to follow.
Concerns/change:
I am still upset that we are not back in school. I miss the atmosphere of leadership students debating on events in class, making fun of Morty’s wonky leggings, and bonding with one another face to face. Human interaction is something that we have taken for granted and didn’t realize it until it was too late. The beginning and ends of Zoom calls are always the most fun because people just talk as if we were in class again. I wish there was another way that we could all see each other while respecting social distancing protocol...
Positive comment:
As the rank and support for the freshman representatives, I am beyond impressed by each individual and their dedication to the program. Although this year hasn’t been what they expected, they are always willing to put in the most effort towards leadership. What I’ve noticed about this group is that they do things immediately and do not wait until the last minute. Devin is especially good at this! Although it has only been a month, I have enjoyed seeing them open up to me and the class, becoming more and more involved with class discussions and other events. I can't wait to see what they end up coming up with for Fallfest.
My Impact:
One way I have been trying to make the world a better place has been starting to organize a health care drive through the Sacramento Vietnamese Healthcare Association. I reached out to the leadership board and pitched my idea and it is now approved! I am currently researching specific Sacramento homeless shelters that will collect these Covid care packages. Although this didn’t seem like that great of a feat, I was proud of my ability to lead the class in a zoom discussion when we were struggling to come together as a team. As I said above, I was proud of what we were able to accomplish and the unity we had as a leadership class.
December ASB Report
Niki Nguyen
ASB President
12/3/20
Position Assessment:
Throughout these past months, I’ve been involved in various activities from Fallfest to the Gratitude Video. In October, we organized a Fallfest week where we had spirit dress up days, court, truck decorations, door decorations, and a pumpkin contest. I was a part of the court reveal process where we live streamed the reveals through Instagram. In addition, I was a part of helping to decorate the Senior Fallfest truck in which we took 1st place! Another event I helped in was the Dude Be Nice Rally. We came up with Perez’s celebratory ceremony where we followed social distancing practices and thanked him for being an amazing “Dude.” I personally worked on bedazzling his paddle and decorating his USC vs Notre Dame football. The last thing I worked on throughout this time was the Gratitude Video with the Freshmen. We came up with a little “lie” where we surprised the freshmen in leadership with an interview in which they were to call whomever they wrote to. Additionally, I gave Derek advice, which was torture, when it came to making the video.
Professional Development:
I have worked to develop my professional skills these past months through practicing facilitative leadership and being proactive in creating events in Ripon High that followed social distancing practices. I tested my adaptability these past months by working on events such as Fallfest, Dude Be Nice, and the gratitude project. Although these events weren’t 100% the way they used to be, we managed to follow the COVID guidelines while being adaptable and fkdfboiefoe. This skill is essential in having a positive school year and gaining the most with what we have. I’ve found that we must remain positive as leaders in order to create a better school atmosphere for the student body.
Concerns/change:
One concern that I have are the age cliques that may arise with everyone being in the same classroom again. We’ve always had this problem, especially now since we didn’t get the change to bond at Core Camp. My hope is that we have days where we have to switch seats and sit with other people in different grades. This way, we have a chance to talk to others in the class and improve our overall class dynamic.
Positive comment:
Although I do give Derek a lot of smack for being lazy and playing too many video games, I only do it out of love. Derek has demonstrated his diligence and hard work through the various technological projects he’s been working on. Because it is only his first year in leadership, Derek has struggled in creating these projects and has had to teach himself how to create the majority of them. Despite this, he perseveres and manages to come up with incredible videos. I am extremely proud of him as a sister and cannot wait to see what is left in store for him for this year.
My Impact:
I have been trying to help wherever I can and take up as many projects possible. For example, I worked on the Fallfest pumpkins, Dude Be Nice paddle and football, as well as helped with the Gratitude Video. In addition, I have been checking in with the Freshman to make sure that they understand what’s going on and don’t have any questions.
ASB President
12/3/20
Position Assessment:
Throughout these past months, I’ve been involved in various activities from Fallfest to the Gratitude Video. In October, we organized a Fallfest week where we had spirit dress up days, court, truck decorations, door decorations, and a pumpkin contest. I was a part of the court reveal process where we live streamed the reveals through Instagram. In addition, I was a part of helping to decorate the Senior Fallfest truck in which we took 1st place! Another event I helped in was the Dude Be Nice Rally. We came up with Perez’s celebratory ceremony where we followed social distancing practices and thanked him for being an amazing “Dude.” I personally worked on bedazzling his paddle and decorating his USC vs Notre Dame football. The last thing I worked on throughout this time was the Gratitude Video with the Freshmen. We came up with a little “lie” where we surprised the freshmen in leadership with an interview in which they were to call whomever they wrote to. Additionally, I gave Derek advice, which was torture, when it came to making the video.
Professional Development:
I have worked to develop my professional skills these past months through practicing facilitative leadership and being proactive in creating events in Ripon High that followed social distancing practices. I tested my adaptability these past months by working on events such as Fallfest, Dude Be Nice, and the gratitude project. Although these events weren’t 100% the way they used to be, we managed to follow the COVID guidelines while being adaptable and fkdfboiefoe. This skill is essential in having a positive school year and gaining the most with what we have. I’ve found that we must remain positive as leaders in order to create a better school atmosphere for the student body.
Concerns/change:
One concern that I have are the age cliques that may arise with everyone being in the same classroom again. We’ve always had this problem, especially now since we didn’t get the change to bond at Core Camp. My hope is that we have days where we have to switch seats and sit with other people in different grades. This way, we have a chance to talk to others in the class and improve our overall class dynamic.
Positive comment:
Although I do give Derek a lot of smack for being lazy and playing too many video games, I only do it out of love. Derek has demonstrated his diligence and hard work through the various technological projects he’s been working on. Because it is only his first year in leadership, Derek has struggled in creating these projects and has had to teach himself how to create the majority of them. Despite this, he perseveres and manages to come up with incredible videos. I am extremely proud of him as a sister and cannot wait to see what is left in store for him for this year.
My Impact:
I have been trying to help wherever I can and take up as many projects possible. For example, I worked on the Fallfest pumpkins, Dude Be Nice paddle and football, as well as helped with the Gratitude Video. In addition, I have been checking in with the Freshman to make sure that they understand what’s going on and don’t have any questions.