A last-minute decision to sign up for an ASB turned into representing 10,000 students and the entire district all within her junior year of high school. Caywood manages being a student, having two other leadership roles, being a mentor to young leaders and meeting with board educators across the nation.
“I was shocked to get a call back for the position. I went through that process of signing up and said, why not? It sounds like fun. Let’s do it. Now I love representing the entire district and look forward to the board meetings. It’s honestly amazing just thinking about it,” Caywood said.
Leadership positions aren’t completely foreign to Caywood, though; she’s been involved in leadership all throughout elementary and middle school as well. Caywood became a student board member in her sophomore year and is continuing the role this year as a junior. When she got her student board member results back, Caywood was surprised and pleased to be chosen, but at the same time, she realized how important this role was.
“As soon as I got chosen, I realized [the position] was a lot more than I thought. But once I got into it, I loved it and was so happy that I applied for it,” Caywood said. “Now looking back, I originally wasn’t even going to apply for that position, so it was a shock going into the interview and getting asked to be a student board member.”
Since Caywood has been in the leadership industry for a while, she has had the opportunity to become closer to Superintendent Dr. Nicole Wesley. They sit right next to each other and have their name brackets right beside each other when they have their monthly board meetings. Dr. Wesley specifically touches on how Caywood “helps to represent the students” by sharing her voice.
“I love how she’s not afraid to come and speak to adults and share what isn’t working and her thoughts and frustrations. Chloe is an integral part of the team and doesn’t work solo. She truly thinks about the student experience, what bothers students, what students don’t like and what students want to see change. She’s not afraid to speak up and advocate on behalf of students. She is the voice of the students,” Dr. Wesley said. “She’s bringing a greater level of awareness to students so that they show up and support each other. So, what happens when students are more engaged is that there becomes a stronger sense of school spirit on the campus, which Chloe has contributed to. You can see it with the club sign-ups and the number of kids who are on teams.”
Although Caywood is now able to voice her opinions to the board, this hasn’t always been the case as it took time to be able to speak up on behalf of the student and herself.
“[Public speaking] is a big challenge, but for me, I just wasn’t the biggest fan of it. It was very challenging at first but I adapted to it. From being a board member, I’ve gained so much confidence from public speaking since I speak in every board meeting. Luckily it’s second nature for me now,” Caywood said.
Persevering past her public speaking anxiety, Caywood also reflects on how her mom has helped immensely in pushing her to get through all the challenges of being the student board representative.
“When I need support, I always reach out to friends and look up to my role models, such as my mom. She inspires me and gives me good advice and strength when it comes to my leadership roles, especially because it can be tough having to represent thousands of students and always being put on the spot. It can be stressful a lot of times, but my mom was a big inspiration to me at times when I needed it the most,” Caywood said
As Caywood enters her final term as the student representative for the district, she describes her “amazing” experience of representing 10,000 students in this district.
“Honestly, it’s nice being on the board since I know I’m doing good for the school and the district by representing them well,” Caywood said. “It was the best decision of my life. It has been the most amazing experience I could’ve ever asked for, and I’m honestly so sad that it’s ending because I don’t want to leave.”
