From freshmen to seniors, it’s impossible to miss some ASB members on campus – ASB President Devin Aaron is always manning the soundboard during a pep rally, and pep commissioners like Asher Katz and Hannah Sarnoff are always helping a nutrition event run smoothly while bringing some excitement. However, many individuals behind the scenes help ASB run as it’s supposed to. Who are they, and what do they do to help Calabasas?
Junior Leighton Westerberg is ASB’s student board representative for the LVUSD Board of Education. She serves as a link between the district and ASB, raising issues in both places. Westerberg, who first started her role as ASB’s board representative in her sophomore year, states that it’s a unique and engaging experience.
“It’s cool to see how connected the schools are and what’s going on all the time,” said Westerberg. “Before, I had not a lot of idea of what was going on, and it’s really interesting to see all the information.”
Westerberg notes that serving as the board representative has wholly upped her school spirit for a very specific reason.
“I’m definitely a lot more spirited because I’m in ASB, and I want to get everyone else rallied up,” said Westerberg. “But being in my position specifically, I think I understand the school better. I remember my freshman year, there were a couple of things [where I thought], ‘Oh, that’s a really long process.’ And now I understand why we have to do all of that and how it gets there.”
Junior Tomer Fine is one of two Clubs and Community commissioners. Along with fellow junior Camryn Somoza, Fine helps manage and monitor every step of the club process at Calabasas, like running a Google Classroom where club members can submit their meeting minutes, along with some more community-based events like the Pali drive, which ends tomorrow.
“As of now, there are about a hundred and ten clubs. We are responsible for getting their hours and helping them go through the process of creating a club on campus,” said Fine. “We’re also in charge of the community aspect here, so we help the blood drives, of which there’s three every year. We do the canned food drive, and then we also do other periodic events like toy drives.”
Fine knew about the role from the beginning of high school due to his involvement in multiple clubs, and through a combined interest in that and student government in general, he became interested in the role of commissioner. He finds that his role as commissioner has even helped other students improve their school spirit.
“I had always been on the other end of making the actual club, but then I was able to help others start a club,” said Fine.
Senior Megan Falikoff and junior Ella Kingsrud are two of three publicity commissioners. Along with sophomore Mia Matalon, they help spread the news about events across Calabasas. You might recognize Falikoff from Currently Calabasas, the virtual newsletter that tells Calabasas students about upcoming events, and you’ve probably seen Kingsrud’s work across different graphics on the Calabasas ASB Instagram. The pair notes that being able to work publicity is something they both dearly enjoy.
“I’ve always gone towards publicity,” said Falikoff. “That’s what I want to do in college and then post-college, so getting the opportunity to interview for ASB for that position and then ultimately getting that position is really cool.”
According to Falikoff and Kingsrud, being part of the publicity team has absolutely connected them closer to their fellow students.
“A lot of what we’re posting and creating, we see it everywhere on social media,” said Kingsrud. “It’s really cool to see how our work is spread throughout the community.”
Along with fellow junior Ineesha Bhargava, Ethan Shapiro plans all of the athletic events that happen across the school, like a blackout football game or a dodgeball tournament. Whether on the sideline or on the field, Shapiro has always been involved with sports, so linking the two in ASB was his dream role.
“I’ve always been a big fan of sports,” said Shapiro. “I’ve played lacrosse for Calabasas all three of my years here.”
Through being a commissioner, Shapiro has seen the intricacies of what goes on behind the scenes of Calabasas athletics, which has helped him become a better student and member of the school.
“It’s definitely helped my leadership a lot,” said Shapiro. “All the planning for the PACK, ordering the decorations, communicating with Coach Cassidy, and making sure everything’s good to go with the halftime shows, all of it,” said Shapiro.
Senior Noa Aizenberg is one of two Diversity and Inclusion commissioners. Along with junior Ella Meyers, she works to make every single student and culture on campus feel recognized, which includes setting up events for holidays like Diwali or the recent Lunar New Year scavenger hunt. Although she wasn’t initially chosen to be a D&I commissioner, Aizenberg states that her experience in the job has been incredibly fruitful.
“I love hearing the feedback from people and hearing that they enjoyed the event,” said Aizenberg. “It’s great to see that they feel included and see their culture on campus because that isn’t what you would expect on campus. It makes me feel like I’m doing a good job and people are happy with what’s going on.”
Aizenberg states that ASB is like a family, and without it, she would probably be a lot less busy. Most importantly, she tells anyone who has any interest in running for ASB to go for it.
“I don’t know what I would have done if I wasn’t involved in campus,” said Aizenberg. “Anyone thinking about running for [the position of] an officer or wanting to interview [for ASB], I cannot recommend it enough. Even if you haven’t had any leadership experience before, by joining the class, you will learn so many traits and characteristics. You will grow so much not only as a student but as a person.”
