Juniors Sebastian Hernandez and Anna Jhon have each announced campaigns to become the 48th Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB). A student from WJ had not won this position since 2007, when Ben Moskowitz was sworn in as the 30th SMOB.
On Feb. 19, the two finalists for the 2025 Student Member of the Board (SMOB) candidates will be nominated at a convention of middle and high school delegates at Watkins Mill High School.
Hernandez is basing his campaign around technology. He has a wide range of experience in programming, including creating the grade-tracking app GradeMelon.
“If I were elected, I do plan on making a simple website where people can vote on the pressing issues, kind of like a little feed,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez also focuses on MCPS spending, especially on technology. He has planned out ways to use his technology skills to budget more efficiently.
“I’ve seen how MCPS spends kind of like overspends a lot on tech, and like if I were SMOB, I’d want to tackle that,” Hernandez said.
Jhon, who is also the secretary of the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association (MCR-SGA) and WJ’s junior class president, is focusing her campaign on communication.
“Having that solid line of communication is the forefront of my campaign,” Jhon said. “Then it goes into a few sectors, so it’s amplifying the student voice, advocating and then achieving.”
Jhon has planned out this system to ensure that the voices of the students are heard and acted on.
“A lot of people at WJ and around the county have really good ideas, but they just don’t know how to get involved and they don’t know how to voice those established plans,” Jhon said.
Additionally, Jhon wants to improve transparency around school safety and ensure that students are informed about hate bias incidents.
“When there was like a gun incident at WJ, I found out primarily from the MoCo Show after school, but I don’t recall that we ever found out more about the situation,” Jhon said.
Junior Hailey Bixby is excited to see her classmates running for this influential position.
“I think it would be really cool to have someone who I went to school with for a long time be [the SMOB],” Bixby said.
The candidates share this enthusiasm.
“It would be nice if another SMOB from WJ comes in, if it’s me or Anna Jhon,” Hernandez said.
After the Feb. 19 nominating convention, there will be two candidates remaining in contention. Students will be able to cast their vote on April 23.
