The Charles County Board of Education swore in Samarjeet “Sam” Virk, a rising senior at North Point High School, to be the student member of the board for the next school year.
Virk, who was sworn in at the board’s June 17 work session, was elected in May by Charles County students in sixth through 12th grade. The election was held from April 15 through May 17 and 2,408 votes were cast. He secured 63% of the vote, representing 1,513 ballots.
Virk, originally from Haryana, India, moved to Charles with his family in 2016. Before coming to the United States, Virk said he could speak Punjabi, Hindi and English by the time he was 5 years old.
He lived in La Plata until August 2023, then his family moved to Waldorf.
Virk is the captain of North Point’s cross country team and he runs for the school’s track and field team as well. The student also co-founded a club at the school, Philoso-Tea, which encourages community through debate about historical philosophical beliefs.
Virk said this involvement and his yearn for leadership drove him to run for student member of the board.
“I’m not a stranger to that leadership role,” Virk said. “It’s less about myself and it’s more about what I can instill in other people that can make their life better, that can inspire them.”
Unlike many past student board members, Virk had very little experience with his school’s student government association and the Charles County Association of Student Councils, which is responsible for running the student board member’s election process.
“That’s what really separated me and kind of made me nervous as I was running for the campaign,” Virk said.
He was inspired by a previous student board member, Amira Abujuma, who was Charles school board’s student member during the 2022–2023 school year. Abujuma also attended North Point High School.
“I was inspired by Amira because I remember when she spearheaded the change with the dress code that shook the world,” Virk said. “It was something that was true to a student’s heart that she brought to the stage that actually ended up making some real change, and that’s what impacted me.”
As student member of the board, Virk said he wants to focus on bridging the gap between students and the school system’s administration.
“Most students have no idea what’s going on in [board meetings],” Virk said. “We have these board meetings that are accessible to the public, sure, but they’re nine hours long.”
He wants to use social media platforms to reach a wide audience of Charles public school students and keep them informed about what is happening with the board of education and, subsequently, their schools.
“There needs to be less strife and more connection between [students and faculty],” Virk said. “Our voice is really worth something.”
Christian Jenkins-DePeiza, a rising senior at North Point High School and the school’s liaison to the board of education, said he is excited to work with Virk this upcoming school year because of his ambition and advocacy.
“Students believe in him because he is putting his all into this position,” said Jenkins-DePeiza. “He has always been both a dedicated worker and someone who will fight for improvements in all spaces.”
As a high school liaison, Jenkins-DePieza said working with Virk will come with innovative ideas and be a collaborative effort to improve the system’s student body.
“He sees some of the qualities of schools in our county that aren’t completely up to par, and immediately brainstorms a multitude of opportunities that would improve both education and school life for the students and teachers,” Jenkins-DePieza said.
After high school, Virk said he plans to explore biomedical engineering. Specifically, he wants to build prosthetics to help those who need it gain activity and movement.
“As an athlete, movement is just such a part of my life that I’m thankful for. And as a leader, uplifting people is something that I feel is very essential to my values,” Virk said. “So in a fusion of those, I really have a keen interest in biomedical engineering.”
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