If you’re looking for a way to boost your college resumes or you just want to hear some “oohs” and “ahs” from anyone you decide to tell your entire life story to, then you’ve hit the jackpot because what does that better than winning class president? However winning isn’t as easy as it sounds and may take a bit more skill than you were aware of. Here’s five simple steps to put you on the highroad to success. 

• Think about why you want to run for president. 

There are various reasons that people want to run for class president: a boost on a college resume, bragging rights, or a genuine want to help your school. Whatever the case may be, you use your reason to begin your campaign. 

“I wanted to be class president not only for the title, but to support the fellow students in my grade and what they wanted,” said sophomore class president Kyle McCoy. “I wanted to make a difference at West and bring back the aspect of fun.”

• Begin your campaign

Now that you know why you want to run for class president, use those ideas to tell your classmates why they should vote for you and not the other candidates. There are many ways that you can campaign; the most popular amongst the student body is posters and social media. As soon as you have found out that you were nominated as a candidate, you must begin your campaign. Print out pictures of yourself or make a fun and relatable graphic using websites such as Canva, and then post them EVERYWHERE–around the school, on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. 

• Use your friends to your advantage

Using your friends to spread the word is very important. Getting them to repost your posters, or taking pictures of you to spread the word around can put you ahead in the game. You can’t reach the whole grade by yourself, so widen your horizons with the help of others.

• Voting day(s) 

These one or two days of the election are the two most important because this is when your classmates are able to cast their votes for who they want representing their student body, and you know that you want it to be you, so this is when you need to be hardcore, reposting all of your TikToks and digital posters, and making sure people are aware when voting begins. If you aren’t speaking to people that you have never spoken to a day in your life, then you are doing it wrong. Ask them if they’ve voted yet, and if they say no, then kindly suggest they vote for you. 

Quick Tip: Remember using your friends to your advantage? Get them to do the same thing as you by telling others to vote for you. 

“I got my role by being likable, campaigning, overall having many friends and acquaintances,” said McCoy. “I went to two different middle schools and the biggest elementary school, so the friends I made in prior schools definitely helped.”

• The wait and results

Lastly, the wait is probably the most difficult part, having to anxiously wait for the results. This part can sometimes be overwhelming, but the experience in itself, whether you leave with a win or not, is very rewarding. If you do happen to hear your name called out over the loudspeaker, take a second and congratulate yourself, and if you didn’t, be proud of your hard work, and try again the next year if given the opportunity.