Cathedral Catholic High School students, who no longer voted this year to elect students to specific Associated Student Body positions, elected instead leaders for a new program called SODA, which represents the four sections ASB positions will be organized into next year, including sound/spirit service, outreach, design, and activities.

“We are steering away from having students on ASB who were voted into a position they do not want or do not have the ability to fulfill,” ASB Director Mrs. Sara Rhodes said. “We want to make sure we are selecting people who are passionate about their position on ASB.”

When students applied for next year’s ASB positions, they filled out an application pinpointing the ASB section they desire to lead. Then, each applicant was interviewed and asked questions specific to his or her requested section in order to confirm the applicant is passionate about the applied position and is qualified to finish team tasks.

The four SODA sections are further split into multiple teams, each having a team leader and fulfilling different needs around campus. For example, students who filled out an outreach application have the opportunity to be a part of the sport, student body or staff and student leader outreach teams.

“We found that people who feel like they have an identity within a larger group tend to be more bought in to their position,” Mrs. Rhodes said.