Photo by Jenny Kirk Marshall High School seniors (from left) Aniso Mohamed, Ammran Mohamed and Amina Ali publicly affirmed their commitment to the oath of office — in this case, the duties of student school board members — at the start of the Marshall Public School board meeting on Monday.

MARSHALL — For the sixth straight year, student school board representatives will join Marshall School Board members at their work sessions and regular meetings throughout the 2018-19 academic year.

Ammran Mohamed, Amina Ali and Aniso Mohamed affirmed their commitment to serve as education advocates at the school board meeting on Monday.

“It is an honor that you were appointed to guide the education of our community’s children,” board vice chair Matt Coleman said. “As you recite the oath of office, you assume a tremendous responsibility as a director of our school district with the duties empowered by the Minnesota Legislature. This power puts you and the other members of our school board in the position of being both morally and legally responsible for equitable, quality education of every student in the district.”

Coleman continued: “In carrying out this responsibility, you will be asked to fulfill the roles of vision, structure, accountability and advocacy. In providing vision, the board, with extensive participation of the community, envisions the community’s educational future and then formulates the goals, defines the outcomes and sets the course for the public schools.”

While the student reps won’t be able to vote or take action on items, they are encouraged to offer input and insights to matters that impact students. The trio will also be expected to present a student board report each month that encompasses significant news and events happening throughout the district.

“It’s official and welcome,” Coleman said after three MHS seniors recited their pledge and signed the oath of office documents. “We’re excited to have you here.”

The high school students then shared short bios about themselves.

“This is my first time on the student board, so I’m quite excited,” Aniso Mohamed said. “I’ve been in Marshall for six years now. I moved from Cairo, Egypt. I am currently fluent in three languages — Somali, Arabic and English. I can speak about 27 dialects in Arabic.”

Mohamed added that she is also enrolled in art club and student council.

Ammran Mohamed and Amina Ali went through the interview process and were selected to serve as student board reps last year as well by the governance committee members.

“I’m excited for Round 2 of being on the school board,” Ammran Mohamed said.

Mohamed shared that she is the third youngest of eight children in her family.

“I have seven siblings — three brothers and four sisters,” she said. “My favorite subjects are math and science, so this year I decided to take more math and science classes. My favorite class this year would have to be College Physics because it always makes me play around with different methods of solving.”

Mohamed said a full and challenging schedule helps her with time management.

“Staying busy allows me to stay on top of things,” she said. “So I joined many activities and clubs such as student council, math team and the honor society.”

When asked to share her college and career plans by board member Bill Swope, Mohamed said she wants to get a full-ride scholarship “at either Yale, Brown or Stanford.”

“I want to be an ophthalmologist,” Mohamed said.

Ali also has seven siblings, but is the oldest child in the family.

“I am from Somalia originally, but I grew up in Kenya and then came to America,” Ali said. “I’m looking forward to this year because I’m graduating. I’m excited about that.”

Ali shared that she is involved in speech and Cultures United in addition to being a student board representative.

“I was supposed to be in Link Crew, too, but it didn’t work out because of my trip to Africa,” she said. “I’m looking forward to joining a lot more as well.”

Ali thanked the board members for the opportunity to learn and grow in her newly-affirmed role.

“I’m very excited to be back this year,” Ali said. “I’m very happy to work with you guys.”

Sydney Hey and Danny West were the first Marshall High School students to serve as student board reps, beginning back in late July 2013. The idea took flight after board members and former Superintendent Klint Willert attended the Minnesota School Board Association Leadership Conference, where they learned how valuable the addition of student voices working alongside them could be.

Since then, Marshall has continually strived to allow student voices to be heard, through the connections they make with the student board representatives each year.