"I love making connections with people," said Alyson Ubungen '22. "I love working in a team and bringing people together to share ideas and make them reality."

That power of positive connection is something that will serve Alyson well this year. She's the IWA student body president, and part of "The A-Team," a duo that consists of Alyson and student body vice president Alessa Elkareh '22. Together, the pair lead the school's morning announcements and student council (StuCo) meetings.

IWA has given Alyson space to grow into her leadership role, showing her that she can bring her own special spin to what leadership is.

"When I left middle school, I had a very absolute idea of what a leader was," she said. "And that was not me. It was someone really strong and outgoing. And that is not me. But my Leading With Character class showed me that leadership is really about authenticity, that you can be yourself and people will look up to that."

Discovering that allowed Alyson to tap into her own strengths. She is someone who loves being able to give of herself. The only child of a mother who emigrated from the Philippines, Alyson loves working with children, and gravitates to service work that helps families. She is a cashier at St. Christopher's Resale Shop and is involved with Her Drive, an organization founded by teens in Illinois that encourages teenagers around the country to launch hygiene-item drives for those in need. 

"I really found myself in giving," Alyson said. "Being of service is so important. And I like knowing that the service work I do could benefit someone like me."

As she begins her senior year, Alyson is looking forward to creating memories with her classmates before they all head off to college. She's hoping to double major in psychology and business, and is exploring colleges and universities with those programs. She's also looking forward to working with her fellow StuCo members on projects and events designed to enhance school spirit. 

"We have new sponsors this year [Ms. Kornegay and Mrs. Hernandez], and we're going to bring back some old traditions we couldn't do last year because of Covid and start new things," she said. "It's going to be a good year."