The Newberg-Dundee School Board chose three Student Board Representatives during a work session on Oct. 24.
Serving in the position until June 30, 2024, the students will not be voting members of the School Board but will be asked to share their insights and perspectives during the meetings. In their advisory role, students will attend School Board meetings and offer input from a student’s perspective, including their own views and that of their peers at school. If a Student Board Representative position becomes vacant before Jan. 1, the Board may appoint a replacement who will serve until the end of the school year.
The three students whom the Board chose to serve this year are NHS seniors Esther Muthiah, Tricia Seto, and Fred Sutherland. But what do these new Student Board Representatives hope to achieve in their role and why did they choose to serve in it? What are their interests and talents? Learn all about them in the profiles below:
Esther Muthiah
Favorite Season: fall
Why did you want to be a Student Board Representative? “I want to better understand how our district works, the things I experience every day, and how things come to be through the School Board,” she said. “I also want to be a voice for my peers and share the good and the bad for my peers and for future students who come through our halls.”
What do you hope to accomplish during your year in this role? “Sometimes it can be easy for the top 10% and the bottom 10% to be seen and the middle is forgotten, and vice versa,” she said. “How can we support everyone and be there for the students?”
Skills: She is English-Spanish bilingual, is well-versed in the culinary arts, and plays the violin and guitar
Experience: She has served as an independent contractor since the summer of 2021, providing cleaning services to local businesses.
Sports: She plays high school and club volleyball.
Clubs and Activities: She holds leadership roles including serving as an Interact Club member and Fellowship of Christian Athletes student leader, and, at her church, she is a worship team member and the leader of the Middle School Youth Group.
Awards and Accomplishments: She has obtained a 4.25 GPA, played violin with the Oregon Symphony, and is graduating high school two years early.
Tricia Seto, senior
Favorite Season: summer
Why did you want to be a Student Board Representative? “I just want to bring a unique perspective to whatever topics we are discussing and share my perspective as someone who is involved in cross country, the Performing Arts, and service clubs,” she said.
What do you hope to accomplish during your year in this role? “The biggest thing is to push for more college readiness districtwide, such as ideas for how high school students can be more prepared for when college applications are coming up,” she said.
Skills: A doer with a strong sense of initiative, she has taken three years of German and plays the cello.
Experience: She has served as a Tasting Room Assistant for Winderlea Vineyard and Winery in Dundee from April 2023 to present.
Sports: She was on the Varsity Cross Country Team from Grades 9 to 11.
Clubs and Activities: She is a member of the Symphonic Choir, Chamber Orchestra, Humanitarian Club, Interact Club, and National Honor Society, and she handles technical work in the Theater Department.
Awards and Accomplishments: She has received the Amazing Kid Award from the Newberg Graphic, earned first place in leagues for symphonic choir and orchestra and then continued on to state, has competed at the state level for varsity cross country, and has obtained a 4.021 GPA.
Fred Sutherland, senior
Favorite Season: spring
Why did you want to be a Student Board Representative? “I want to advocate for our growing CTE [Career Technical Education] Department and to provide the necessary resources and equipment to whoever needs it,” he said.
What do you hope to accomplish during your year in this role? “I want to make sure the people are heard everywhere,” he said.
Skills: He is adept with computer systems, the culinary arts, basic Parliamentary Procedure (how legislative bodies run meetings), gardening, and public speaking, and he speaks some Spanish.
Experience: He volunteered for three recent events: Freshman Orientation at NHS in September 2023, Sciencefest at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in April 2023, and My Future My Choice at Mountain View Middle School (a 10-part education series about respect, dignity, and setting boundaries) in March 2023.
Clubs and Activities: He is the FFA President at his school and the Lower Willamette District FFA Vice President.
Awards and Accomplishments: He was a participant in the FFA Washington Leadership Conference and has obtained a 4.091 GPA.
Note: The students’ responses have been edited for length.
Photo: From left to right are Tricia Seto, Fred Sutherland, and Esther Muthiah, the new Student Board Representatives.