On March 25, the Student Committee (StuCo) announced that Skylan Tong ’27 and Ella Pradhan ’27 won the co-president election for the 2026-2027 school year.

The two newly elected co-presidents ran for different reasons. “I really like leadership … and I like public speaking,” Pradhan said. “I like the idea of being able to lead a whole student body. Also, the process of running was really fun for me.”

“I mostly ran for co-president because my friends told me to. They said I’d be a good co-president,” Tong said. “And then I thought about it a bit, and I thought, ‘I could probably handle this.’ So I decided to run.”

The most visible responsibility of the position is leading all-school meetings (ASMs). “I’m most excited to lead the ASMs,” Pradhan said. “You guys vote us in for that — that’s the only thing you see.”

Being co-president involves many responsibilities, including planning dances, organizing sports events and leading StuCo. Many of these tasks go unnoticed by the Urban community.

“What people see you do versus what you actually do is an iceberg situation. They see the tip. … They see you at ASM, they see you at SoccerFest and the triple header[s], but they don’t see you actually doing the work that makes those things happen,” said Skyler Silverman, dean of student activities and StuCo faculty adviser. “You have to be someone who is on board with the idea that … what you are working to do is unseen and therefore will be unappreciated.”

Pradhan feels ready to take on the responsibilities of the role. “I’m willing to do the work,” she said. “I’m not someone that’s gonna be tired of this after the excitement of the contest or the voting runs off.”

Tong believes he brings a lot to the role, including experience in pep band, orchestra and StuCo. “I’m very reliable. I’ll definitely show [up to] exec[utive] meetings early. And, you know, I’m always happy to do the work when asked,” he said. “I’ll be fun and entertaining, so that should definitely add a little bit more energy to ASM[s].”

Former co-president Rachel Rose ’26 shared her experience with the role. “It seems like, when you’re on StuCo, everything is a plan. You just have to check off the boxes of ‘We’ve done Blues Jam, prom and the gardy.’ … But it’s really so much more fun and enjoyable if you’re not just going down the checklist, and [you’re] creating new things and making stuff happen,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to bring those [new ideas] to life.”

Pradhan has begun to brainstorm future events. “I’m looking forward to maintaining what Urban already has, and then also hopefully creating more fun activities, like block parties, keeping the winter dance, hopefully, or maybe even expanding it to a different venue,” she said.

Tong attends Urban sports games wearing an inflatable dinosaur costume to boost school spirit, and is dedicated to maintaining that energy. “I’d like to get more school spirit going, but that’s always something that’s been promised,” he said. “I hope I can deliver.”

The new co-presidents shared hopes for the upcoming school year. “I hope that … we can make this a really good year,” Pradhan said. “And I hope that everyone is excited to engage and have fun.”