When James Young and Maricella Gonzalez joined the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) board as student representatives in 2024, they stepped into a space that doesn't always feel built for students. From budget line items and policy language to formal meeting structure, it was a challenging new world. 

James, a senior at Mercer Island High School, and Maricella, a senior at Puyallup High School and Running Start student at Pierce College, didn't just observe from the sidelines. They asked hard questions, named disconnects, and stayed curious even when the room felt intimidating. That’s why this spring, the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) and PSESD recognized them with the WASA Regional Student Leadership Award. 

The student board representative role is relatively new at PSESD. Part of the challenge is reading the room and knowing when to speak. “When the board is divorced from how students are actually experiencing things, that's when we might jump in,” said James. 

That’s what happened last year during a discussion about cell phone policies—a topic with a direct effect on students' daily lives. Student reps engaged, and both Maricella and James raised this as an example of a moment where their contributions shifted the conversation. 

Maricella described the role as uniquely suited to people who are intellectually curious. “It's a place where you can ask questions about things you don't understand,” she said. 

Even with this kind of openness, James was candid that the environment doesn't always make participation easy. “It does feel like things are moving quickly and you're interrupting the flow,” he said. He often found himself wondering, “Should I ask a question? Is it a good question?” 

James knows that it's an adjustment for boards to take in student voices. “You can tell there's still learning about how to integrate student voices and make them feel comfortable.”

Both Maricella and James noted that the board has been actively working to create deliberate space for student input. “In the last couple of meetings, they've been leaving space for student voices, asking if student reps have anything to say,” James noted. “I think that's a nice gesture.” 

Beyond the meetings themselves, both students brought the perspectives of their outside work with them to their time on the board. 

Maricella's commitments run deep. A varsity debater and public speaker, she's also part of community task forces at Puyallup High School. Her core belief is that schools should be places where every student genuinely belongs—something she notes that requires intentional effort, not assumptions. This fall, she’ll be studying public policy at the University of Washington.

James, who will study at Northwestern this fall, is secretary of his school's Education Coalition for Asian American Representation (ECAAR) and he works with local and national organizations focused on closing opportunity gaps and advancing more representative curricula. His approach is rooted in social justice and a belief that educational institutions need to actively reform, not just incrementally improve.

James and Maricella demonstrated their convictions in the most recent board meeting, when the board reviewed statewide student survey results. Maricella and James didn't just receive the numbers, they also wanted to know more about the survey and how it was administered. While students across the state take the survey, few see the results, as Maricella noted, saying, “The survey results were an interesting thing to see.” James concurred, “The statistic about student safety surprised me. I was actually curious as to how it was that high.” Maricella added, “There's a disconnect between what the statistics may say versus what happens within our districts.”

Both students were thankful for their experience on the board, and Maricella had one clear message for any student thinking about applying for the role: “Students should apply.” Then she joked, “It looks fantastic on a resume!”

What James and Maricella modeled goes beyond résumé-building. They consistently showed up, asked real questions, and brought perspectives the board needed to hear.

We thank James and Maricella for bringing their experiences, insights, and passion to the PSESD board!