If an HHS student were to ask which fellow Mustang is in charge of helping the school run smoothly and working with the administration to make change happen, they would most certainly be pointed to the ASB president, senior Nikki Liu. 

“I’m extremely thankful for this opportunity.” Nikki said,” It’s really nice to know that you’re working towards a goal together.” 

Nikki said she had previously held the positions of class vice president, class president, and ASB social manager before becoming ASB president in this school year. Nikki has been part of a leadership program since her middle school days and said she regards a good leader as someone who does not look at themselves as better than others but instead tries to lift everyone to the same level. 

“So if we go way back.” Nikki said, “I was in leadership in [Cupertino Middle School], and my friend had a sister that also went to Homestead and she had a great experience in leadership so I was like oh, maybe I’ll like trying it out in Homestead too.”

Nikki’s display of leadership does not just end once school hours are not in session, sophomore Katie Liu, Nikki’s sister said. Katie talked about her sister’s involvement at home and how her older sister drives her to school.

“[Nikki shows how] she is a leader in our home because of the experiences she’s had and how she teaches me through her experiences,” Katie said. “She takes me to school, and helps me with math [homework].” 

Nikki said the leadership team thus far has mainly been working to boost morale in the student body during the 2021-2022 school year.

“I think the major goal for this year is honestly getting everyone back into the school spirit,” Nikki said. “Getting the in-person rally was a huge accomplishment because it was postponed I think two times and it almost went online.” 

Another change leadership hopes to invoke in terms of change for the incoming school year is to become more inclusive to anyone who is willing to run for a class officer position, and to show incoming freshmen and others that the leadership class is very inclusive and is open to anyone willing to run, Nikki said.

“[One of the] goals for this year is getting everyone back and having our usual events and activities, but something that we’re really focusing on this year is being mindful of our actions and kind of reconstructing leadership to be more equitable and inclusive,” Nikki said. 

Nikki said her attempts to change leadership into a more inclusive class and build on the events and activities already present. She said the leadership team is trying to change how school celebrations and events work and how they can be reevaluated to be less exclusive. 

“We are just trying to rethink everything that we do in leadership and even if it’s old traditions, this is the year of change and we can improve on all the events and activities that we have,” Nikki said. 

As much of a difficult decision as it has been to commit to being president of ASB, the outcome has been very rewarding, Nikki said, regarding the sacrifices she made in order to stay on top of her school work. 

“I had to cut out a couple of clubs and a couple sports and extracurriculars because of the time management and applying to colleges,” Nikki said. “It was a really hard decision but [it just had] to be done.”

Overall, Nikki said that a good leader means understanding different perspectives and opinions and taking that into account when making a decision that will affect the student body. She talked about how leaders don’t refer to themselves as better than others but more of an equal, the senior said.

“You don’t really think of yourself as a leader and put yourself on a pedestal,” Nikki said. “You’re a great team worker, and you can communicate well with other people and motivate others to share the same goals [and] drive that you have.”