If you have watched a show by Shorewood Drama, seen Drill perform, or watched SEA-TV, there’s a pretty good chance you know who ASB president Clel Howard is. Howard, who uses any pronouns, is one of Shorewood’s outstanding seniors.

As ASB president, he oversees each class’s officers and their fundraisers, and does a lot of work behind the scenes. It’s not an easy job, he said, but it’s an important one. “With ASB president, there are a lot of moving elements… What it really comes down to is I act as the voice for students… and also make sure that no matter what, I am representing the students,” Howard said.

Howard will be majoring in business at the University of Washington- Bothell once he graduates. After he gets his degree, he already has some unique plans for the future. “I would love to start a business, and I’d like that business to be a grilled cheese cart on the side of Aurora, and the goal would be to put some of our profits towards helping feed the homeless. It’s been a dream I’ve had for a few years,” Howard said.

At Shorewood, besides ASB, Howard has been involved in Drill, where he is now a captain, SEA-TV, as an anchor, a TSA officer for three years, and has been in seven of the eight shows Drama has put on in his four years. With so many activities, Howard’s schedule can get busy. “When drama is going on, and drill is in the middle of competition season, I’ve had days where I’ve been [at Shorewood] for 15+ hours, and it’s a lot,” he said. His strategy for organization involves a lot of Google Calendar and communication with advisors. Sometimes, he has to plan a year in advance.

Regardless of the scheduling, it’s worth it. “Once you get to the end and like, whether it be drill and dance state or performing on the stage, you see this level of growth in the people that you’re working with as well as yourself, that it’s just unmatched. You know, it’s why I kept doing it all four years, even with the long days,” Howard said.

Looking to June for seniors, Howard said to look forward to senior breakfast, campus day, and graduation. “Graduation is gonna be incredible. We’re back at the Angel of the Winds Arena, which is an incredible stadium… it’ll be really awesome to graduate there,” said Howard. He encouraged fellow seniors to be excited about this new chapter of their lives.

Howard offered one final piece of advice for the senior class: “As we get into this last portion of the year, anybody out there who might have some beef with somebody else, just try to let bygones be bygones. I know it’s tough, [but] you’ll feel a lot better leaving high school knowing that you had more friends than you did not. And that’s what’s important.”