While students at South are counting down the days until summer, newly elected student council executive board members, along with Josh Koo, new assistant principal of student activities, are already planning and thinking about changes for next school year.

Incoming senior Abby Grant is looking forward to take on the position of Student Body President for the 2017-2018 school year. Grant and the rest of the new executive board are excited to bring in some changes next year, as the executive board is focusing on modifying homecoming.

“We have been looking into this thing called boom tour, [where] they […] bring a rave to your school in a sense where they have strobe lights, a DJ, a stage, and it’s very interactive with the audience,” Grant said. “In the past few years [at homecoming], there were a lot of people just standing around talking pictures and only staying for 20 minutes. If this boom tour works out, we can get a lot more students to come and stay for a longer time and make it more worth their money.”

Along with the changes to homecoming, Grant also says they are planning on modifying the canned food drive, although she did not specify the exact modifications. Grant is excited for her new role, as she loves public speaking and has always wanted to speak at graduation. She is ready to work at the core center of all the activities at South, according to Grant.

“Something that has always been one of my dreams is to speak at graduation, and I knew that part of being Student Body President, you give a speech at graduation,” Grant said. “I love to get up on stage, although I am not a performer.”

Along with Grant, incoming senior Gracie Hambourger is ready for her last year on student council, as she will be Student Body Treasurer. She is eager to continue planning events with Koo and the rest of the new executive board, and her goal for next year is to get to know everyone better that is in student council.

“Getting to meet everyone on student council, will be really cool, [… as] we will actually get to know them,” Hambourger said. “It’s a really good working relationship [with Koo as] he kind of brings us back to reality, and then we kind of bring him back. It’s not like we agree on every single [idea], which I think is a really good because we are actually able to take about the pros and cons of everything, so I am really excited to have him next year.”

Koo says he currently enjoys spending his own time being involved with the extracurricular activities South has to offer with students outside of school.

“It’s a really cool opportunity to see kids in places where they’re passionate,” Koo said. “You see a different side of them.”

Koo says he is looking forward to taking South to the next level. By the next level, Koo wants to make sure that all students have a sense of purpose, passion, and pride. He wants each student to know what opportunities await them, and be able to express their passions, according to Koo.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for me to see how else can we make our school better, how else can we make our school culture and make our school environment better,” Koo said. “I would love to see the day where we have 100% student engagement in extracurricular activities whether it be athletics or non-athletic. I would love to see every student feel like they have a sense of purpose and a sense of identity and a sense of acceptance when they walk into Glenbrook South.”