On Wednesday, February 26, students got to work in the position of a principal at a school in the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) or they were able to be a part of a different position in City Hall. Many students from the United Student Body (USB) class and students from the government classes got to be a part of it to look at their options.

Kaitlyn Min (12) and Marian Lin (12) were both principals at different schools and experienced what it was like to be in charge of a school for a day. 

“I wanted to be a part of student government to open myself up to different occupational opportunities, specifically in the education department. Looking back on when I was in middle school, I wanted to go back and emphasize how important middle school is,” Min said. “Middle school is a time when students are learning to take on more responsibility and events similar to student government day; it shows students how leadership works in action.”

Not only was being a principal for the day an option, there were other position opportunities for those who participated. A student, Charlene Cheng (12), was part of the city council group and got into political science.

“It was a very eye-opening experience as a city council member,” Cheng said. “You would have to go through a bunch of documents about issues or listen to the people’s comments and you would even have to think about how this would impact the city specifically for a certain group or area.”

On top of this being the best chance for students of Ayala and other schools to experience a new perspective, it took a lot of work from people behind the scenes to make this happen.

“I learned a lot from [the staff] and gained a lot of insight on how much work is put into helping students do their best behind the scenes,” Lin said. “It was an honorable experience as I could tell that the principal and assistant principals really loved their job and was in the best interests of the students.” 

Some people did this for fun, but many also wanted to explore the real work experience and feel what it might be like working in the certain fields that they participated in. Min, being interested in the education department, felt that this opportunity was just what she needed to experience and she would recommend this to anyone who would like to try it out.

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was so much fun to see my old teachers, my younger brother, and be at the school that I could not fully attend due to Covid-19. It was so much fun to play dress up and spend the day with Mr. Ries and the other Canyon Hills Jr. High staff,” Min said. “They were extremely welcoming and made the whole experience a blast. I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone that is interested, because this was an unforgettable experience.”

Many people who were a part of student government day had a blast and would love to recommend participating in this type of event to anyone willing to try or even thinking about it the slightest bit. Whether you become a principal at another school for the day or even work in a different department, if you joined the event, it would give you the best experience. 

“I wanted to experience firsthand what it takes to make decisions that impact the school community and encourage students to step-up and be leaders themselves,” Min said.