Most know Jasmine Shi as captain of the Color Guard or as the student body executive president. Yet, she is also a leader in other activities such as the Vivaldi Orchestra and the Empowerment Club. Jasmine welcomes leadership roles because she feels it helps her build connections and improve her general people skills. She explains that being a leader has led her to be friendlier and kinder to everyone around her.
This past fall, Jasmine helped lead the Color Guard to victory. She said she first joined this activity because of her family, specifically influenced by her mother, who plays a major role in the music department. She also saw that her brother and friends were members of the Color Guard and were having fun, so she was interested in joining. She started her Color Guard career with winter guard in eighth grade, soon realizing how much fun she was having because of the time she got to spend with her friends. She also enjoys the activity because the routines incorporate a considerable amount of dancing, which helps continue her love of dance.
Starting this year, Jasmine became the Head Captain of the Color Guard. One of her goals as a leader is to help the team transition out of COVID, where she saw the overall team morale deplete. Last year, the team struggled with finding coaches and teachers to help, so Jasmine mainly focused on creating a better experience for all members. She explained how being a leader forces her into a position where she must not only help and look after herself but everyone else too. While explaining this idea, she remarked, “you have to remember that they’re new.” Jasmine also explained what specifically the Color Guard won this year: the MHS marching band and Color Guard were overall in second, but she led the Guard in winning a special award for best guard in the States Competition.
Jasmine is also a part of the Vivaldi Orchestra, where she is the principal viola. She first started playing the viola when she saw Mrs. Morrison in fourth grade, whom she thought was “so lovely and cool.” Another deciding factor in her choosing the viola was because of the instrument’s status as special and different from others. She enjoys playing her instrument specifically because when she plays notes in the lower register, her head moves with the instrument and creates a vibration. Jasmine has continued to play the viola throughout the years not only because she loves the instrument itself, but because she enjoys the feeling of satisfaction after a successful performance.
In the world of empowerment, Jasmine has been the leader for multiple years. In June, the Empowerment Club created a Girls on Paper magazine in honor of women's empowerment. Some of her goals as president are to recruit more underclassmen and get a website for the club. She wants to preserve all of the work that the club has accomplished so far and believes that the creation of a website can help with this preservation.
When asked about empowerment, Jasmine said that the word means to include everyone. In previous years, this club was known as a club for feminism, rather than overall empowerment, but Jasmine is working to create a more open club. She insists, “This club is a safe space.” Previous years also included a plan to go to women’s marches as well as a bake sale to support local shelters.
The club’s first big project of the year was the RISE tickets, which gave a shoutout to students who showed a lot of respect and integrity. Teachers gave out the tickets and the students could use them in a gift card lottery. When Jasmine first joined this activity, she was new and eager. Now, however, the senior realizes that it’s her job to guide and try to be connected to all members of the club.
Some of her other activities include peer leadership and student council officer. Jasmine is the executive treasurer of MHS. When asked about this position, she simply replied, “I take care of money.” In past years, some of the senior’s projects were to work on creating a COVID-friendly prom.
Jasmine had a unique answer when asked about who inspires her. She said that she genuinely doesn’t know who to say, but if she had to answer, she would say herself. This is because, in her opinion, the best person to represent yourself is you. She feels that if you base your life on someone else, then you aren’t showing your entire personality. The senior feels like it’s important to be a “self-sufficient cog.” Her future plans include majoring in journalism because she sees the importance of writing and wants to “become a better writer.”
Shi also offered advice to the underclassmen. She feels that they, specifically the freshmen, are “forced to expose themselves” to fit in. Her advice would be to just know that you don’t have to change yourself and expose all of your personality to be socially acceptable. Jasmine believes in being your “truest self.” We wish Jasmine good luck in all of her future plans!
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