As school year 2025-26 nears its end and seniors prepare to graduate, members of the senior council look back on what led them to the council and moments of high emotion and reflect on those who helped them and what is in their future.
Liam Choy (c/o ‘26), the senior class president, joined the council his junior year as class secretary. Choy said he did not run for council, but stepped in because the council needed a secretary. Choy said he felt his time as junior secretary helped his class, and he wanted to make a bigger difference his senior year, so he ran for, and won, president.
“I wanted to really make sure that my class had, hopefully, the best final year. Senior year is your last year of high school and college isn’t the same,” Choy said.
Choy said as president he made agendas, made sure everything was correct and everyone in the council stayed on task. He also helped plan events like fundraisers, prom and the commencement ceremony, communicating with their class adviser, Jennifer Nakamoto, and other staff helping out in the process.
“I even found myself talking to our representative at Prince Waikiki for months on end [when planning for prom],” Choy said. “It’s kind of weird sometimes, being in my position and talking to adults.”
When Choy first became senior class president, he said he thought it would be much easier than it really was, but his experience has taught him that things are never going to go how they are expected. Choy had a list of events that he wanted to do but as the year went on, he realized most of them could not be done because there was not enough time or manpower, or the council fell short on planning.
“We were supposed to have events every single quarter, but we just didn’t have the time to do it because we also had our own school work and personal life to attend to,” Choy said. “I’m at the point where if it fails, it fails. And that’s okay, we’ll just continue on with it.”
Choy said he felt proud when they had a senior sweep during Tiger Rally when the seniors won all three games. He said that seeing his class come together to decorate the gym, getting excited about the games and having fun, even though everyone was in different friend groups felt really nice to him.
“It made me feel like this is my class. This is my class,” Choy said.
Choy said he sometimes wishes he was not president because he could not enjoy his senior year as much, and he is struggling a little bit academically. But he also said he would not have been given so many opportunities or got to meet some people if he was not president.
“It’s like a double-edged sword in a way,” Choy said.
In order to cope with stress now that there is less than a month left of school, Choy said he usually hangs out with his friends. Choy said his friends are like a backup council to him and he can lean on them for support no matter what.
“I feel like my friends are the only reason why I was able to accomplish so much. I have them to thank for almost everything. I love them so much. They have been there to witness almost every single one of my crash outs and burnouts,” Choy said.
Since Choy is about to start a new chapter of his life, he said he is very excited because he enjoyed high school and it is where he met all his friends. Choy also feels relieved because high school was such a hard time for him and he thinks college will give him more freedom.
“I keep saying it but I don’t think I would be where I am if it wasn’t for all my friends like Cheska, Jewel, Kyu, [and] Kaiden. … I’m really excited to graduate and finally move forward,” Choy said.
A piece of advice Choy has for students interested in running for class president is to really think about it. He said serving the school is fun, but students who are interested should keep in mind that it is a big commitment.
“I wish someone told me that it’s not about you, it’s about your class, when I first joined. … What you do is for your class [and] you basically put yourself behind your class and council,” Choy said. “I wouldn’t discourage them from doing it, but just to really sit there and think about … if you’re really up for the role or not.”
Kenny Duong (c/o ‘26), the senior class secretary, said he decided to run since no one else applied for the position and he wanted to share the fun ideas he had for events. As class secretary, Duong takes notes during council meetings and keeps a class binder that stores all their records so they can do reflections after each event.
Duong said there were times when it was hard to keep up with deadlines, and that there was a lot of miscommunication during Dance and Chant. So, the council tried their best to check in with the volunteers and managed to get everything done the day of the event.
“I’m actually really happy that we finished it in time,” Duong said. “Despite Dance and Chant being pretty stressful, I did really enjoy the event, especially when we had judging day and we went all out on our performance.”
Despite it sometimes being stressful for him, Duong said he still thinks being class secretary is fun because he enjoys taking notes at council meetings. All the practice helped him when he was taking notes for other classes, like AP Psychology.
“It has taught me to … not just copy and paste the entire notes, but also to summarize everything that is important for me to know,” Duong said.
Duong said he feels that the past four years went by too fast and everything feels a bit daunting to him. At the same time, Duong is excited to graduate and walk across the oval. A piece of advice Duong has for students interested in running for class secretary is to be as attentive and communicative as possible.
“If you have any questions or … if you feel like you’re missing out on something, don’t be afraid to ask, even if it may seem scary to you,” Duong said.
Senior class vice president Sean Giron and treasurer Hau’oli Tabije were not available for an interview before the publication deadline.
Jennifer Nakamoto, a ninth grade math teacher for the Legendary House and math department chair, is the Class of 2026 teacher adviser. Nakamoto said she has held this position for four years, starting from when the Class of 2026 was in their freshman year. Initially, Melissa Kamakawiwoole was the teacher adviser for Class of 2026 and Nakamoto said she volunteered to help her. Somewhere during the year, Kamakawiwoole left the school for a while and there was no guarantee she would come back, so Nakamoto became the sole class adviser.
Nakamoto said her role as teacher adviser is to be an adult presence that guides the senior council. Especially during their freshman year, where Nakamoto said she had to be more hands-on with them because the council was new to the school. But by the time the council entered their senior year, she is mainly there to give advice and sign purchase orders.
“You need big patience,” Nakamoto said. “Sometimes what is clear to me isn’t necessarily clear to students, so I have to explain more than what I thought I needed to.”
Compared to when the council members first took office, Nakamoto said everyone has become more outspoken and has gotten better at getting their class to participate in various activities.
“They’ve grown as leaders,” Nakamoto said.
In order for a council member to succeed in their position, Nakamoto said she believes they need to be good listeners. And similar to what Choy said, Nakamoto said the members have to separate how they feel from what the class wants because they are representing them.
“It helps if you’re well spoken, but that’s not the end all be all,” Nakamoto said.
When the Class of 2026 won the song contest for the third year in a row, it marked the first time a senior class was ever on the trophy for winning the song contest at Tiger Rally. Nakamoto said it made her realize why she does what she does.
“When we had rehearsals and practices, I told the seniors the only thing I really cared about was winning that trophy. And they did it,” Nakamoto said. “I was very proud of the class.”
Now that the Class of 2026 is about to graduate, Nakamoto said thinking about it makes her sad. She said she teared up when the class was singing at Tiger Rally because she was so proud of them. At the same time, she said she is glad she teaches freshmen because you see them for four years.
“I don’t get them just as seniors … I am with them the whole time,” Nakamoto said. “Kids that were my Legendary students, just looking at them and seeing how grown up they are, … it makes me a little bit sad, but also very happy.”
This article has gone through the following process: pitch, interviews, drafting, peer feedback focused on content/structure, revision, peer feedback focused on language/conventions/style, self-checked for ethics and fact-checked by sources. Student editors approve the article for publication.
