SOM: Jann, the Judicious Leader

Jann Alexei Uy, a 12th grader, is recognized as the Student of the Month for February due to her Leadership and excellence in Academics. One of Jann's nominators told us that she shows "exemplary leadership in all the classes that she has and takes initiative and leads groups." I then asked Jann if she has had experiences wherein she had to put extra effort to be listened to and be taken seriously as a leader, to which she responded with

Yes, I have had experiences like that. It's a difficult journey as a woman because we're often a bit more taken for granted and we are really masked by other people's voices.

Another nominator also said that she is a very hard-working student and does extremely well in her dual enrollment classes as well as her AICE Literature class- a class that I take with her and can attest to her performance! I proceeded to ask where this passion for learning originated, and she responded "Well, it all started because of my family. My family always pushed me to work hard and do well in school and you know, be a high achiever so I can be successful in life." Other than her upbringing, she adds that "seeing other people, you know, around me, they also wanted to do better in life, make differences and changes and just be influential and change the world" influenced her leadership.

Furthermore, she states that she feels very honored by this recognition and very surprised because she didn't think she was fit for the recognition, but apparently other people thought she was. "I'm very happy that people feel that way about me and very thankful. Thank you," she adds.

Lastly, she says 'No, not really, no. I've usually just been more like in the distance, not really trying to put myself out there, but still trying hard to do my best. So I did not expect it," when asked whether or not she expected the recognition.