A version of this story first appeared in WFAE Education Reporter James Farrell's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get newsletters from WFAE straight to your inbox.
This week, I wanted to feature a new face on the school board. No, not Charlitta Hatch, Anna London, Cynthia Stone or Shamaiye Haynes, the board’s new members who were elected last November.
I’m talking about Inchara Gopinath, a junior at North Mecklenburg High School who’s been elected by her peers to serve a one-year term on the board as its student advisor. Gopinath was one of 11 finalists selected from throughout the district.
The student advisor doesn’t vote – but they still attend meetings and aim to represent their peers on the dais whenever the school board meets. They ask questions, they listen to their classmates and raise concerns. It’s a position made possible through CMS’ partnership with the nonprofit GenerationNation that promotes student leadership.
Gopinath recently told me she didn’t take the responsibility lightly. She said when she won, “it was definitely kind of a shock” to confront the reality of being one 16-year-old representing nearly 140,000 students.
First, a little bit about Gopinath: She’s a member of North Meck’s speech and debate team, which she calls “easily one of the biggest pillars of my high school life.” She loves golf. She’s been playing for a long time and has been on the school team for the last three years. She also volunteers at Angels and Sparrows, where she reads to children to help develop literacy skills.
Here’s more about Gopinath and her priorities for the role:
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
James Farrell: Tell me about what it felt like when you won the position.
Inchara Gopinath: (Charles Jeter, CMS executive director of government affairs, policy and board communications) began with saying, “This is a very tough process and we're very proud of you for how hard you've worked.” And then he said, “It's very hard to tell a student that they lost.” And at that point, I began to feel very, very defeated. I mean, I was obviously, again, proud of myself and happy with everything he said, but of course, that indicated that I had lost. So he said, “But the good news is that we don't have to tell you that because you won.”
So it was rewarding, relieving, and really just a funny experience overall.
Tell me a little bit about maybe what you would consider some of the big parts of your campaign. What were some of the issues that you ran on that you think helped you stand out?
One big one for me, wanting to apply for this position in the first place, I mean, not just being able to showcase my leadership, but also being able to speak with the students and not for them.
It was definitely kind of a shock to know that I am this one 16-year-old representing … 142,000 students. And so the most important thing is being able to let them know that they are safe, seen and supported.
I want to really address that mental health can be a big issue in high schools. Students aren't always confident enough to really express how they feel with both academic or athletic stress put upon them. And as a student who experiences both academic and athletic or just other aspects of overwhelming factors in her day-to-day life, I want to be able to let other CMS students know that they have someone who can relate to them on that scale and let them know that I can help with that through this one year.
What are some of the things you're hoping to accomplish in this year?
I'd really like to accomplish, again, maybe more tangible ways of students being able to express themselves. So whether it be actually going to each of these schools, that's one thing I really want to do.
I think more kids deserve to know the actual position of what the CMS student advisor does. Not even that many know who the CMS student advisor is.
And I'd want to be able to conduct surveys or maybe interviews or essentially just a way for other students to come up and share their voices and encourage more participation among students in their education.
This is kind of a two-part question: What are you most nervous about, and what are you most excited for?
I am nervous about the pressure. I know going into it, I didn't actually realize until I was given numerical values of where this position actually stands.
But despite all of that, I'm excited for the support. This is only my fifth day on the term, but I've been shown so much support, kindness, and just love with this position. And I'm really, really excited to be able to meet all my new board members and get to work with them and see their perspectives as well.
What kinds of strategies are you hoping to pursue to make change happen?
Okay, as a teenager, I think it's important to acknowledge the beneficial impact of social media. I think social media can be very, very helpful in this position. The CMS advisor actually has its own Instagram account, and I believe I could use that to reach out to several students across CMS. And any that are concerned or have anything to share, any inputs, because again, anything that I do implement isn't just my idea, but all of these 100,000 students' ideas.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Another thing that inspired me to really run for this are my teachers. They mean everything to me. I don't think I will ever be able to express how much my teachers matter to me.
