Sometimes leadership begins with a grand dream. Sometimes it begins with a choice between band and leadership.

For Vivian Zhang, it started in sixth grade when her middle school students had two elective options. They could join band, or they could join leadership.

She chose leadership.

Her reason was simple and honest. She did not enjoy playing the saxophone.

“I guess leadership it is,” she remembers thinking.

What started as an accidental decision quickly became something much bigger.

Discovering the Power of Impact

Vivian soon realized leadership gave her something she had not expected. It gave her the chance to make a difference.

She loved seeing ideas become reality. She loved knowing students could create experiences that changed school culture. She loved the feeling that one person, even in a large school, could still have influence.

In middle school, she became deeply involved. By the time she reached high school, she knew she wanted to continue.

“I wanted to be someone who could make an impact,” she shared.

So she joined freshman leadership and kept moving forward.

Finding Her Voice Through Media

While Vivian has held positions such as sophomore class president and later earned election as treasurer, the role she speaks about with special pride came much earlier.

In seventh grade, she became her school’s social media coordinator.

She held the role again in eighth grade, and that experience opened the door to a new passion, media design and communication.

That early work eventually led her to become CASL Media Lead, where she helps shape branding, storytelling, and student engagement on a statewide level.

Even with larger titles, she still enjoys creating. She recently designed her school’s Powderpuff jerseys and continues to help with merchandise and visual projects.

Leadership, for Vivian, is not only about holding office. It is about building something people can see and feel.

Choosing Depth Over Distraction

As she looks ahead to her senior year and beyond, Vivian speaks with a maturity beyond her age.

She does not want to spread herself thin chasing every opportunity. Instead, she wants to focus on the areas where she can make the greatest impact.

“I’m trying to really focus on what I care about most,” she explained.

That mindset has helped her think carefully about the future and about what deserves her time, energy, and heart.

A Future in Helping Others

Outside of CASL, Vivian has become passionate about HOSA, the student organization for future health professionals.

She recently competed at the state conference and hopes to grow into leadership there as well.

Her future may include nursing, medicine, kinesiology, physical therapy, or sports medicine. What matters most is clear. She wants a career built around helping others heal, recover, and thrive.

That desire to serve others echoes the same reason she stayed in leadership. She wants to improve lives.

Advice to Younger Students

Vivian believes some of the best opportunities in life arrive unexpectedly.

She never planned for leadership to become such an important part of who she is. It simply appeared, and she said yes.

Because of that, she encourages younger students to stay open.

Try things. Explore. Walk through doors when they open.

But she also offers another important truth. Before committing deeply to something, talk to people who have already walked that path.

Learn what the experience truly requires. Passion matters. Without it, burnout comes quickly.

If you care deeply, the hard work feels meaningful.

The Adults Who Saw Her First

When Vivian reflects on the people who changed her journey, she immediately thinks of her middle school advisors Ms. Gates and Mrs. Kangas..

They encouraged her to run for opportunities before she fully believed she was ready.

They saw potential in her before she saw it in herself.

That, she says, is one of the greatest gifts adults can give students.

Students need people who notice their strengths, name their potential, and help them access opportunities they may never pursue on their own.

Sometimes the most powerful words an adult can say are simple:

You can do this.

You belong here.

You are capable of more than you know.

No Self Imposed Limits

If Vivian could leave one final message for students, it would be this:

Do not place limits on yourself too early.

Do not decide what you cannot become before you have tried.

Do not close doors because of fear.

Follow what excites you. Follow what challenges you. Follow what feels meaningful.

After all, one wrong note on a saxophone helped lead her to statewide student leadership.

And that sounds exactly like the right path