During the campaign for the schoolwide office, signs could be found reading “It’s Crystal Clear, Vote for Crystal Yeh”. Crystal Yeh (‘24) has since obtained the position of schoolwide president.

She has been involved for quite a while. From Student Council in 5th grade and middle school, to class president freshman and sophomore year, to schoolwide vice president junior year, she has loved the Student Government Association (SGA).

Yeh describes how she feels about being apart of SGA, “I like the idea of helping the community and making sure that everything being discussed is actually being carried out.”

These experiences have helped her grow and learn as a leader in many important aspects, such as speaking to the administration effectively, holding fundraisers, and getting to attend to the ideas of her peers.

At East, Yeh is involved in Model UN, Mock Trial team, UNICEF Club, the Chinese Student Association, and DECA.

Yeh explained that at first she was unsure about running for president, but after thinking it through she realized it was the most fitting position for her and her plans.
“Ultimately, I had a lot of ideas and initiatives to carry out that I wouldn’t be able to see through unless I was president,” Yeh says.

“Taking action shouldn’t wait,” according to Yeh, so she worked all year on these initiatives.

She also had thought out how she would campaign and market herself. She created a timeline of when she would make the posters, release her information, and even when she wanted to talk to different groups of people.

“I think my favorite part about it was getting all of my friends involved,” says Yeh.

Yeh has ideas set up to follow through with during her presidency. She plans on monthly SGA updates, social media transparency, charity fundraisers, and the initiatives of the vice presidents and the committees. There are 4 vice presidents, Usra Aslam (‘24), Asher Boiskin (‘24), Manar Hadi (‘25), and Noah Yang (‘24). She really wants to ensure that under her presidency, everyone in SGA has an opportunity to have their ideas heard and carried out. She sees the board as “cogs in a machine”. They all hope to work together to delegate and make sure that everything gets done efficiently. She plans on meeting with the vice presidents soon to organize their plans for next year.

“The vice presidents all had campaign ideas and my job is to help carry them out,” Yeh says.

Additionally, there are 4 committees in SGA: the Mental Health Committee, Academics Committee, Public Wellness Committee, and Performing Arts & Athletics Committee. Each of these committees has ideas to be carried out. Yeh plans on advocating for each of these. For example, she is very involved in the Mental Health Committee. This committee has set up the first Mental Wellness Day, and she hopes to see it through to next year as well.

Surveys are also a prevalent part of her goals. She wants to collaborate with Eastside to ensure data is correct so she can take note of her peers thoughts and feelings.

Her main goals are to be proactive and stop major issues before they negatively affect the students. She strives to increase school spirit and to improve the school’s ambiance.

“I want to make East a place that people will look forward to going to and think of as a home,” says Yeh.

Yeh explained that “SGA is something that [she] loves doing and [she] doesn’t see [herself] giving it up, it is so integral to [her] senior year.” She wants this presidency to be a legacy left behind her.
Overall, Yeh has the initiative, selflessness, positivity, and ideas to make 2023-2024 a great year for East.