No longer does she shy away from people or keep to herself. Senior Student Council President Akshata Sastry is now an outgoing and confident person, and she thanks Student Council for it all.

“I [used to] not speak in front of crowds,” Sastry said. “Now I feel that I’m more comfortable with speaking and being in front of large crowds of people.”

Sastry said she decided to take a leadership class her sophomore year but was unaware that it was actually a Student Council class.

“I thought it was just a normal leadership class, and I figured that I was shy and I needed leadership classes to be more outgoing,” Sastry said.

Sastry said she soon realized Student Council was fun and a great experience, so she decided to be an officer and became treasurer her junior year and president her senior year.

This year Student Council has been involved in the blood drive, planning homecoming and prom and promoting the seatbelt and technology campaigns.

“We do a lot of things that people don’t really know about,” Sastry said. “[The things we do are] a lot of small projects that people don’t really notice. It does get a little frustrating, but in the end we don’t do the things we do for recognition. We do it to make people happy and make going to school a little more bearable.”

Through her experience as Student Council president, Sastry said she has learned how to communicate more openly with many different people, be a leader in a large group and be a mentor to her peers.

“I got a chance to learn parliamentary procedure,” Sastry said. “I got first hand experience of how difficult it is to plan and put things together, like prom and homecoming.”

“I know during projects or ideas there are always roadblocks. There [is] always someone saying no, and you need to be persistent. You shouldn’t get discouraged with other people,” Sastry said. “You should take it from a different angle, be determined.”

Serving as Student Council President has been a very rewarding experience said Sastry, who has not only been a leader to her peers but also a role model for future Student Council presidents.

“I’ve made a lot of friends in Student Council,” Sastry said. “I’m more confident in myself, and I feel that I can see the world differently now that I’m not so shy anymore.”