Yearly SMOB Nomination Period is Open

If you have ever dreamt of becoming the next Student Member of the Board, right now is your time to fulfill your lifelong dream. The SMOB candidate nomination period was reopened on the 4th of January and will run until January 27th. Any 10th or 11th MCPS students who are interested are eligible to submit their nominations for candidacy.  

As a Student Member of the Board, you will broadcast the needs and concerns of the MCPS student body to the MCPS Board of Education. By being a representative, you are giving a student’s point of view on matters adults and professionals are making for us, the students. 

To be nominated you must be junior or senior in the year you run. In order to submit your own nomination, you must review the SMOB requirements and protocols found in SMOB Election Protocols 2021-2022 – FINAL 12.20.21.pdf. On page 29/30 in this pdf is where you will find the application you’ll have to submit. 

The Roles and Responsibilities of a SMOB candidate are to run their own campaign under the rules given by the Special Elections Committee (which can be found in the SMOB Election Protocols).

SGA Events Coordinator, Catherine Blumhagen advises, “The biggest thing is to conduct a positive campaign. Don’t talk bad about your other candidates in group chats or publicly. It gets you into a lot of trouble.”

Once you have been elected, you automatically start to fulfill your position. The SMOB will have to work a 40 hour/week position which includes events at night and weekends. Meetings can even be scheduled during school hours. Though it is only a one-year term, the job can be very demanding.

There was a SMOB 101 meeting held in November where previous SMOBs discussed their experience running for SMOB, accessibility barriers, and had Q&A sessions where they talked with panelists. This event is held every year so if you aren’t eligible to run for SMOB this year, you could always attend this year’s meeting to get more in-depth answers from previous finalists. 

Ruhama Endishaw, a junior at Springbrook high school, recalls her experience at the meeting, “The meeting was very educational as they talked about general information on filing and the timeline of the election. The past SMOB candidates got to share their experiences and answer questions so it was a very exciting event!”

Our SGA is working hard to find someone who wants to be more involved with SMOB and the election process.

“For Blake Students specifically, it’s really important that we get involved in this process! Historically, we, along with Springbrook and Paint Branch haven’t had much representation in the county as low-income, majority-minority schools. Get Involved! Represent Blake!” Quynhan Nguyen, SGA Vice President, encourages.