Student Think Tank held its first meeting of the new school year on Sept. 25 during lunch in the multi-purpose room (MPR).
The program serves as a platform for student opinions about ongoing school-related issues and offers solutions to these problems. The first meeting was essentially an introduction to what Think Tank is, with students selecting a “theme,” which is the agreed upon issue on campus that students and staff will collaborate to fix.
Student Think Tank was started by the last principal, Dr. Ryan Maine, with the goal of making the school a better place. This year, principal Dr. Michele Lew has taken the reins of managing the program. Currently, about 40 members are focusing more on the spirit and culture surrounding the school. Mustang culture will be the subject of this year’s meetings and members of Think Tank will work together to solve related problems and make changes.
“I was so excited that so many students wanted to be a part of it because as I mentioned before, student voice is really important to me and just understanding the student’s experience is important,” Lew said.
The theme for last year was the lunch area, and previous members made an online menu so students can be sure the lunch is worth it, rather than waiting until the signs above the windows were visible and swapping between lines. This is just one change made through student ideas, and members are ready to make an impact this year.
“I think a lot of other people were excited as well because there’s so many people at Think Tank this year, way bigger than last year,” Associated Student Body (ASB) president, and Think Tank member, senior Pitzil Avila-Castellanos said.
The first meeting was a chance to learn names and connect with others, but it still served a purpose. The point was to get students comfortable with each other and set a goal for the year. Future Think Tanks this year will be focused on excitement, welcoming new students, and making everybody feel involved.
“I was very impressed by just the discussions and the brainstorming that we had during the meeting,” Lew said. “I could tell that it was really important to students that everybody felt like they belonged here and they were welcome.”
