Since 1996, the California Association of Student Leaders (CASL) has been providing students with opportunities to grow and enhance their leadership skills.
During the past two years, two students from the MUSD Middle College High School (MMCHS) have served on CASL’s board.
Nia Gupte, who is currently a senior at MMCHS, served on the CASL Board during the last academic year. And she is currently serving as a student board representative for MUSD’s Board of Education.
“At CASL, we’re committed to building a culture where students can build their leadership skills. This can be through public speaking, through goal setting, through teamwork,” said Gupte.
CASL, which is a student-led nonprofit organization, hosts conferences, workshops, and other events for both middle school and high school students throughout the year. For the conferences, the students handle the planning and create an itinerary; they also lead their own workshops.
For Gupte, being a part of CASL has been a transformative experience. During her junior year, she served on the CASL board as the web and digital media director.
CASL’s board, which includes students from all over California, consists of seven northern directors, seven southern directors, two freshmen at large, and several media directors. There’s also a director of operations and a council state president.
“Previously there hadn’t been board members from MUSD or Milpitas, in general. I was the first, and I wanted to encourage other people to run for the board as well,” said Gupte.
She told another friend at MMCHS, Janvi Balakrishnan, about how powerful her experience with CASL had been. Without hesitation, Balakrishnan applied to the board; she got a spot.
Balakrishnan, who is also a senior at MMCHS, currently serves as a media director on CASL’s board.
“My experience has been truly magical. I moved to Milpitas from India four years ago,” said Balakrishnan. “I never would’ve imagined that someone like me would have made it to CASL. Being a part of the board made me realize my experience is valuable. I’m using this platform to give students the tools I wish I had.”
Balakrishna recently returned from CASL’s statewide conference, which took place in Ontario, California. She spent months working with other members to plan the event…
“It took months of planning, hours of arranging goodie bags and tickets, and countless days of hard work. But when delegates got to see and be amazed by our work, that’s when I was rewarded,” Balakrishn shared with The Beat. “Chanting loudly through the halls, with the building echoing our voices boldly, I felt unity. All together, we were united at this one place at this one time.”
Balakrishnan joined CASL not only for the leadership opportunities, but also for the opportunity to travel across the state.
“I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to travel since I just moved here. CASL was that opportunity for me. To experience traveling and what it’s like to be on your own and practice true leadership. It’s a skill everyone has, whether you’re a passive leader or someone more active. Those skills are transferable from school to university to work to family. CASL helps you learn to believe in yourself and see the potential in yourself,” said Balankrishnan.
Both Gupte and Balankrishnan feel that along with CASL, their experience being students at MMCHS has truly shaped them. They both transferred from Milpitas High School to MMCHS because they wanted something different from a traditional high school environment.
MMCHS, which is part of the Milpitas Unified School District, offers students a collaborative community environment in which to take honors high school classes along with college courses.
“I knew transferring to middle college, I would have more opportunities. I think it has opened me up to a lot. I’ve been able to create community impact projects and increase my student engagement,” said Gupte.
Balakrishnan has been at MMCHS since her junior year. As someone who is deeply interested in business, she felt there weren’t many opportunities to focus on that particular pathway at MHS. Now, at the middle college, she’s able to take college classes that are in alignment with her interests. And as a competitive swimmer, she also gains from MMCHS the flexibility to design her schedule to suit her needs.
Regardless of which school a student currently attends, both Gupte and Balakrishnan hope that more Milpitas middle schoolers and high schoolers take advantage of the unique, life-changing opportunity that they feel CASL offers.
“CASL is an example of what true student leadership should be,” said Balakrishnan. “It creates an environment that has allowed both of us to thrive.”
