Hey there everyone!
My name is Toka Hussein, and I’m so excited to run to represent the intersection of both Macaulay Mountain Lions 🦁❤️ and John Jay Bloodhounds 🐶💙🐾!
I’m so grateful to have met and connected with everyone these past weeks, but I cannot wait to learn more about each and every one of you and the people you grow to become.
Before I get into my experience, I want to talk more about who I am as a person. I was born in Egypt, and moved to Queens when I was 3 years old. Growing up, I have always loved reading, writing, and meeting new people. If you haven’t noticed already, I am a very social person and love to be around people all the time, a true extrovert. I come from a big family, with three siblings: a 14 year old sister, a 7 year old brother, and a 3 year old sister. Being the oldest, I have had to learn leadership and organization in such a deep way that it has become embedded in my personality, and I hope I’ll be able to showcase these skills as your MHC representative!
I went to Brooklyn Tech HS, and to say it was stressful is a severe understatement. However, I learned many great skills and was a very active member of the community. I was president of the Model United Nations team, which had approximately 150 active members! We got to compete at the local, national, and international level, with many speaking and writing awards being earned (and winning best high school team internationally!). I was also the Senior Hard News Editor at our 100-year old student newspaper: The Survey. I got to write and explore many great topics around my school, and the people I met from that experience were unforgettable! Aside from those two, I have also spoken at the United Nations as a youth delegate on the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East, served as the Event Coordinator and co-founder of the Arab Student Association, was the Editor-in-Chief and founder of the school fashion magazine, and in National Honors Society and the National Social Studies Honors Society.
Outside of school, I also participated in the Sonia Sotomayor Internship Program where I interned with a New York Supreme Court Judge (and got to meet Justice Sotomayor in person!), was a student advisor at PressPass NYC where we helped underfunded schools start student newspapers and journalism programs, and presented at the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association to a group of national journalists!
Phew, that was a lot! 😅 The bottom line is, I have extensive experience leading, presenting, listening to concerns, writing professionally, organizing and hosting events, and of course, connecting with people from all over the country, and even the world!
As your MHC representative, I want to continue supporting the close community we have already grown to be. Starting the Instagram group chat for the ~25 of us was one of the best ideas I’ve had, and if I am elected I aim to continue with projects and events that generate a lively social life at a school known for its isolated commuter community. The closeness we have should go beyond the close friendships, and into the professional world to form real connections that will help us all grow in our respective fields, no matter how different they may be.
Of course, I’m running as a representative, not a dictator, and therefore I am devoted to listening to the ideas that each of you have to better both our Macaulay and John Jay communities. I want to highlight the uniqueness of each of you and how we can come together and form a circle of intelligent, ambitious, and thoughtful students to shape our tomorrow.
If you have any ideas you would like to see come to life, feel free to reach out! DM me on Instagram @tokaaboka or catch me in person around the building. I cannot wait for the chance to represent all of you!
Vote Toka for Scholar’s Council now! 😁
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