Senior year is considered by many to be demanding and stressful. Dealing with college applications, thinking about the future, and managing extracurriculars is plenty to keep seniors busy. Imagine navigating the struggles of a typical senior year, on top of serving as a full-voting member on the Board of Education. Nick Asante doesn’t have to imagine. He lives it.
“How many people get to say that they were a full politician at the age of 18, managing a $4 billion budget?” Asante said.
Looking back on his term as Montgomery County Public School’s (MCPS) 43rd Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB), Asante understands the uniqueness and significance of his role, especially during a year when MCPS has had to shift to virtual school due to the global pandemic which abruptly shut down in-person learning in March of 2020.
Asante’s journey with educational advocacy began when he was very young as a child in Ghana, where he was born. He lived with his grandma, an elementary school teacher, who taught him the value of education.
“ [My grandma] really instilled within me the idea that education is important,” Asante said. “Everyone should have access to high quality education, regardless of who you are or where you come from.”
Although he has since moved to the U.S., Asante still keeps in touch with his grandmother, discussing the state of schools around the world, and sharing their own experiences from Africa and Montgomery County, respectively.
Asante retained the passion for education inspired by his grandmother, using it to become involved in student advocacy across the county. He first joined the SGA in middle school, and eventually served under the State Board of Education Center for School Safety, as the Chief of Staff for the Montgomery County Regional SGA (MCR) and last year, served as the Chief of Staff to the 42nd SMOB Nate Tinbite.
“It all just culminated to me wanting to run for SMOB to further that advocacy I had done,” Asante said.
When announcing his SMOB candidacy in early January 2020, Asante had no idea that his term would coincide with what many would consider one of the most tumultuous school years in history. Much of his term would become focused on navigating virtual school in the middle of a global pandemic, and the calls for racial justice that have sparked protests and action nationwide. These challenges were completely unprecedented. No SMOB has ever had to deal with a crisis of this magnitude; something that has impacted every student, parent, and teacher in the county.
“It has been a lot, but I think it’s all very important work,” Asante said. “COVID has really shown that our school system can do a lot.”
With schools now virtual, communication has become one of Asante’s priorities. As a student himself, he fully realized the value of reliable information for students, and wanted to communicate in ways that would resonate with them. Asante has held town halls and focus groups through Zoom, re-launched the SMOB monthly newsletter, and has engaged with students through social media with frequent graphic updates, live streams, and direct-messaging with students. Asante has really enjoyed being able to connect with students (although virtually) as SMOB.
“I’ve had different groups of students all with different issues, come in and talk to me about their experiences,” Asante said. “I think that’s been my favorite part, just listening to other people and learning what they’re going through and understanding where they come from.”
Even as COVID-19 has seemingly dominated much of Asante’s term, he has had many accomplishments in other areas. He is proud of his work striving to ensure equality for all students, as he has worked with the Board on implementing the Anti-Racism Audit and on banning hate symbols in school buildings, something that he was surprised to discover was not already in place.
Asante was also able to achieve many of the agenda goals he established during his campaign. Working with the Board of Education, he helped secure Chromebooks for every student, encouraged the Board to move forward with a contract to get electric school busses, and although still in its early stages, he passed a resolution to put menstrual hygiene products in school bathrooms.
Although the four months that remain in his term may not seem like a lot of time, Asante and the Board of Education have plenty left to do. One of the tasks at hand considered to be most important by Asante is managing and executing the MCPS return to school plan, which the Board voted into action in early February. They will also be making a decision about the Student Resource Officer (SRO) program.
Initially, Asante was unsure of what being on the Board would be like.
“I was scared coming in, because you know, these are adults. A lot of them have master’s degrees, PhDs. They’ve been principals, they’ve been teachers, they’ve been lawyers… You’re talking to these really, highly educated people. And you’re trying to hold your own in a conversation without trying to sound like a kid.”
As he approaches one year as SMOB, Asante cherishes the relationships he has formed with his fellow Board members.
“It’s like you have a bunch of aunts and extended family now that you can talk to and go to for advice,” Asante said.
Asante’s packed schedule, filled with schoolwork, Zoom calls, and Board meetings, doesn’t leave much room for anything else. However, he still finds time to see his friends in socially distant ways, and watch old movies, which he loves.
Although he is still undecided on where he will attend college, the opportunities presented with becoming SMOB have already impacted his outlook on the future. As a career, Asante hopes to mix political advocacy with economics. He has considered the idea of becoming a social entrepreneur, creating a business that focuses on helping people.
“I thought I knew what I wanted to do,” Asante said, “But then I think becoming SMOB … having the chance to kind of shadow all these different MCPS employees … made me realize that there’s so many different career paths that you can take to achieve different things.”
With the 2021 SMOB election between Hana O’ Looney and Henry Kaye approaching, Asante, speaking from experience, has some advice for his successor, who will take on the responsibilities of a full politician, along with those of a high school student. His first suggestion is about making priorities.
“I think having that ambition is definitely great,” Asante said, “But realizing that you only have one year, so really prioritize what you want to do and think about who you’re representing.”
Asante’s last piece of advice speaks to making the most of the experience.
“You get to be in rooms that most people never get to be in, you get to have conversations that most people never get to have, and you get to make decisions that most people never get to make,” Asante said. “It goes by so quickly. So I would tell them to enjoy every moment.”
Article by Sammy Krimstein of Quince Orchard High School
Photo courtesy of Montgomery County Public Schools