Bio: Eman Zia (she/her) is a junior at South River High School in Anne Arundel County. She is creative, hard-working, and puts everything in all that she pursues. Eman realized early on how often quiet voices are left unheard, simply because they aren’t as loud as those around them; This inspired her to get involved with student government and use her platform to amplify those unheard voices. She loves collaborating and talking to those around her, and will jump to help a group/activity in any way/role they require. Eman found her love for environmentalism in her freshman year of high school, and soon thereafter, realized how unsustainable many school practices are. She now works to advocate and push for more sustainable alternatives to everyday actions in schools–like composting, schools x local farms, community gardens, paper recycling, etc. Eman strongly believes in working together to be more sustainable and bring our communities closer, united by an exemplary common cause. Through her time in MASC, she hopes to exhibit this idea through her work and stand for greener schools across Maryland.

Bio: Oliver Song(he/they) is a senior at Wilde Lake High School in Howard County. An avid advocate for the environment, Oliver serves as the co-hub coordinator of the Howard County Sunrise Movement and as Certified Youth Ambassador at the Youth Climate Institute. Through testimony and lobbying, Oliver has advocated for much green legislation at the local, state, and national levels. Oliver was a finalist for the Student Member of the Howard County Board of Education and now serves as the Regional President of the Howard County Association of Student Councils (HCASC). In his free time, Oliver enjoys gardening, fish keeping, and supporting environmentally friendly politicians running for office. He is incredibly excited to engage students around Maryland in supporting green legislation and practices.

Bio: Andrew Lieux is a sophomore at Huntingtown High School in Calvert County and is a passionate student leader expanding his leadership at the state level with the  Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC)!! He is serving his second year as secretary for the Calvert Association of Student Councils (CASC), as well as a school officer. Andrew finds his drive from the potential for greater change that he could be making and also from expanding the discussion of Mental Health. Andrew enjoys athletics, particularly soccer (eight years), and track, and is also a performer (11 years, ages 4-15).   He is always finding some way to make someone laugh! He enjoys spending time with his friends and family, working out, writing, singing, and working on student government initiatives. He’s very interested in psychology, education, and politics, so we’ll have to wait and see what he does with that in the future.

Bio: Sofia Cabrera is a sophomore in Carroll County and attends Liberty High School. This is her first year in the Maryland Association of Student Councils, but she’s been a part of numerous other extracurriculars and holds leadership positions in many. Some include executive board positions in her school and county student councils, mock trial, vice president of her school’s Equality Club, treasurer of her school’s National Honors Society Chapter, Co-President of the student-led organization called Carroll County Kids For Equity, founder of the Hispanic student union, and many more. A passion of hers is student advocacy and representation in schools.  This is reflected in many of the extracurriculars in which she participates. Some of her hobbies include marching band, art, watching films, and music. She also hopes to major in legal studies and become a civil rights or immigration lawyer in New York City.

Bio: Zaria Naqvi (she/her) is a freshman at Winston Churchill High School, located in Montgomery County. She is a hard-working, driven individual who remains motivated by her peer’s personal stories about a variety of issues. Zaria strives to be a peer advocate and righteous leader through her works in school-wide, county-wide, and state-wide advocacy. She currently serves as the Maryland Association of Student Council’s Diversity Equity and Inclusions Coordinator (MASC DEI Coordinator), and a Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association’s (MCR) Finance coordinator, in which she works towards managing and collecting funds. Zaria also serves on the Budgeting Advisory Committee where she is able to strive for a fair and equitable distribution of funds. In addition, Zaria started as the Treasurer of Herbert Hoover Middle School and grew to become the Vice President. She is heavily involved with advocacy about the opportunity gap, staff diversity, and diversity within student leadership. Outside of advocacy, Zaria codes using Python, Flask, and other languages. Through her studies of code, she carries grown passionate about teaching other females about computer science and does so through her position as Vice President of Girls Code It. Like this, Zaria spends her time working in numerous advocacy organizations throughout her community bringing her to where she is today.

Bio: Claire Cabral is a junior attending Hereford High School in Baltimore County. She currently serves as Vice President of the Baltimore County Student Councils and is a writer for the Flagship Forum, which focuses on current topics impacting youth in the United States. Claire is passionate about school safety, serving as a Co-Facilitator of the Maryland Center for School Safety (MCSS) Student Focus Group, Student Member on the MCSS Advisory Board, and is the founder of the first School Safety Chapter in the state of Maryland. She has served as a School Safety Liaison for the past two years and is excited to continue working to better school safety practices across the state. Outside of student council, Claire is an avid field hockey player, Model United Nations member, and reader. She is a proud HOBY Alumni and wants to continue to pursue humanitarian work in the future.

Bio: Henry Meiser is a current high school senior and possesses experience in school safety, student advocacy, and mental health services at the local, state, and national levels. He has worked with groups like the Maryland Center for School Safety, the Behavioral Health Administration, and the Governor’s Office on Youth and Victim Services to improve the student’s experience in and out of the classroom. Henry also obtained his certification in Leadership and Management from the University of Pennsylvania and is a recognized presenter and speaker locally and nationally.

Bio: Laura is a Junior at Northern Garrett High School in Garrett County. She has been an active member of the student council for six years and currently serves as the Parliamentarian of Northern Garrett High School and President of the Garrett County Association of Student Councils (GCASC). Outside of Student Council, Laura is a team leader of a FIRST Tech Challenge team where she is a builder, programmer, and editor of the engineering notebook. Laura is also a member of the Bittinger 4-H Club where she serves as Song and Recreational Leader. In 4-H she carries 17 project categories and annually has over 100 entries in the Garrett County Agricultural Fair. Also, she has danced for 14 years at Frostburg Dance Academy and is a member of the Northern Garrett Mock Trial Team. Laura is passionate about serving her community and regularly volunteers over 200 hours per year, and has extensive experience planning large service projects. Laura is excited to serve as Service Coordinator of MASC.

Bio: Amira is a senior who attends North Point High School in Charles County. She currently serves as the Charles County Student Member of the Board (SMOB) as well as holding officer positions in her school’s National Honor Society and National Technical Honor Society. She is passionate about community service and improving the lives of others. Outside of the student council, Amira participates in unified sports including unified track and tennis. Her hobbies include baking, painting, reading, and playing the piano. She hopes to leave a positive mark on the world around her and aims to inspire others to serve their community.

Bio: Elani is a sophomore at Richard Montgomery and is heavily involved in student advocacy at the school, regional, and state levels. She is passionate about fighting for student representation and excited to work with MASC. She is also an avid member of her schools’ Red Cross Club, Model UN, and Forensics team. Apart from school, she enjoys reading, baking, painting, and working with horses!

Bio: Etana Heda is a senior at Springbrook High School in Montgomery County. Along with serving as one of the SLACers, he serves on the Montgomery County Regional SGA (MCR) as a Legislative Affairs director. He is also a part of his school’s SGA. Besides advocacy, Etana runs track and cross country and enjoys spending time with his friends and family. He is super excited to get things done in MASC and looks forward to using his skills in advocacy to make meaningful change.

Bio: Dylan Kilkenny is a senior at Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore County! She has been an active member of her school’s student council throughout her high school career, and in addition to serving as MASC’s State Legislative Affairs Coordinator (SLACer), serves as County/State Liaison in her school’s student council. For leadership outside of student government, Dylan is the Programs Director for Eastern Tech Democrats and is also a member of four honor societies, including the National Honor Society (NHS), Eastern Tech Green School Club, and Red Cross. In her free time, Dylan loves to play the violin and spend time with her dog, Oswald! Dylan is extremely passionate about legislative advocacy and hopes to educate students across the state on policy issues.