The 2025 Class Council was recently elected by the Green Class. Consisting of Co-Presidents Sooahn Lee and Amanda Zhu, Vice President Naomi Weisner, Secretary Quinn Pruiksma and Co-Treasurers Emily Zhu and Jennifer Yu, the Class of 2025 will be supported by students with a range of backgrounds and experiences.
Sooahn Lee and Amanda Zhu, Co-Presidents
Photo courtesy of Sooahn Lee.
Sooahn Lee and Amanda Zhu met in BISC/CHEM 116 when they were assigned as groupmates. When working together, their labs were not the only sources of chemistry — their shared passion and colliding ideas catalyzed their choice to run for the presidency.
“I never had an opportunity to impact such a broad student body before [Wellesley]. I decided to challenge myself because I am keen to create a thriving community,” Lee said.
For Zhu, running for president was not on her bucket list before Wellesley.
“I want to know the community better and be able to help. I think our first year is the best to kick off this and I decided to run on the spot,” Zhu said.
For the upcoming year, they plan on several events, such as Lee’s “Flower Gram” event. In the spring, students will bring flowers or gifts for friends, classmates and professors, with a class wall of polaroids from the day. Zhu aspires to create a prom-themed winter social to help form connections — especially for the “promless.”
“We graduated high school in a pandemic and many of us might not get our proms and graduation ceremonies,” she said.
Of course, the Class Council is not centered around socials. Aiming to identify first-years’ feedback and suggestions and reflect them into concrete actions, Zhu and Lee are planning “Coffee Chats” to facilitate direct communication with students.
Both Lee and Zhu expressed their excitement to bond with the council members and look forward to creating memories with the class through unforgettable events and activities.
“I think [our council members] will work cohesively as a team because our ideas and values seem to match well. I am excited to work together with them,” Zhu said.
Naomi Weisner, Vice President
Photo courtesy of Naomi Weisner.
Naomi Weisner set out to have a role to advocate for others.
“I genuinely really like helping out and advocating for people, while being able to see the other side of how a school functions … that is a perspective that I feel like is only seen if you serve [in] student government.”
Naomi manually emailed the entire Class of 2025 so she could remind them to vote for her for Class Council and show her dedication to the role.
“There’s definitely an easier process … it took like an hour, I was watching Netflix but it was stressful. I didn’t do much else [for campaigning] because I didn’t feel like I had to go overboard. I didn’t want to spam everyone.”
Weisner plans to consistently put herself out there, as her main priority is to be a Vice President there for her class year to talk to.
Quinn Pruiksma, Secretary
Photo courtesy of Quinn Pruiksma.
Quinn Pruiksma knew she wanted to run before September.
“I was the student senate secretary in high school. It was such a rewarding and enjoyable experience so I am certain to pursue this in college,” she said.
Pruiksma describes herself as a fast typer and writer, perfect for documenting the work of the Council. She hopes to learn the rhythm of the council work first while being supportive of peers’ actions and helping students. Because of her rich experiences in hosting dances, Pruiksma is excited about similar projects in the future.
Emily Zhu and Jenni Yu, Co-Treasurers
Photo courtesy of Emily Zhu.
Photo courtesy of Jenni Yu.
“In high school, [Jennifer Yu and I] felt like, as students who were part of a minority, our voices weren’t being heard by our school. We decided to run for this position to be able to have minority students’ voices be heard in a Class Council setting,” Emily Zhu said.
Both Zhu and Yu want direct feedback and ideas from other members of the Class of 2025 in the form of surveys and Instagram polls.
“I want more people to feel involved … I want them to know where their money is going,” Yu said.
They have no set plans on what they want to achieve, instead wanting to see what the rest of the Class of 2025 want.
“We’re just keeping a really open mind … and letting the students of this class be the people who are going to decide what they want,” Zhu said.
