16 Blair SMOB delegates announced

On Feb. 6, Blair’s Student Government Association (SGA) announced 16 Student Member of the Board (SMOB) delegates for the upcoming Nominating Convention on Feb. 15. Blair delegates and delegates from across Montgomery County Public Schools will gather to elect two final candidates for the 46th SMOB. 

As more students registered for delegation than Blair’s allotted 16 seats, a formal election was held for the student body to select this year’s delegates.

The final 16 include Bereket Asmerom, Estefany Benitez Gonzalez, Nikhita Bhatt, Nina Lucia Della-Giacoma, Bezawit Gessesse, Ach’sah Gubena, Camilla Jordanwood, Zoë Kaiser, Shyna Kashi, Emily Mallon, Nora McCray, Valery Montenegro, Cate Sauri, Clare Walsh, Edith Yang and Hannah You. Blair’s alternate delegates include Ernest Lingani, Sophia Pranio, Lee Williams, Nathaniel Bingenheimer and Giorgia Toti.

During the Nominating Convention, delegates will vote for SMOB candidates based on background information, candidate speeches and personal statements. Students will convene until two finalists are elected, who will then move on to the SMOB election for secondary Montgomery County students on April 19, 2023. 

The candidates for the 46th SMOB include Andery Endessa, Joseph Hartlove, Delina Kebede, Jax Kobey, Shayma Murrar, Faith Nah, Olivia Rayford, Henry Rivera, Samantha Ross, Sami Saeed, Praneel Suvarna, Shimma Wexler and Yoseph Zerihun. 

Of the thirteen candidates, three are from the Downcounty Consortium (DCC), which includes five high schools – Blair, Einstein, Kennedy, Northwood and Wheaton. Sophomore delegate Shyna Kashi hopes to bring more downcounty representation to the board. “I wanted to make sure the [DCC] is represented in the SMOB candidates," Kashi said. “Historically it has always been Richard Montgomery or Whitman kids.”

With the rise of fentanyl use and overdoses in the county, Kashi looks to elect a SMOB candidate who will address the recent overdoses and communicate well with students. “I feel like the issues that affect the DCC need to be addressed better, such as the recent [overdoses], and [these issues] don't really happen at Richard Montgomery and [other upcounty schools],” she said.

The 46th SMOB Nominating Convention will be held on Feb. 15, 2023 at Watkins Mill High School.