For example, this year, the Leadership class has changed from its rigid structure of only commissions to a more fluid structure that includes committees. Instead of assigning major events like Powderpuff or Senior Ball to separate commissions, a committee — rehashed from different commissions — is in charge of planning those events. Committees, unlike commissions, are formed based on who signs up for which events. This way, people in Leadership now have the freedom to organize the events they’re interested in rather than the events they’ve been assigned.

Along with the fluidity of the class’s structure, Leadership is open to new ideas, which are incorporated with the lessons and wisdom passed down from previous years. This year’s gender-neutral royalty court at the Homecoming rally owes its existence to the open atmosphere of Leadership.

“[Royalty court] wasn’t so much of picking [an event] as it was an idea,” senior Nathan Mallipeddi, ASB social manager, said. “Anyone in Leadership can [pitch] an idea, then we’ll talk to the [Leadership] class about it.”

However, Leadership doesn’t necessarily start from scratch; there are some traditions that have been well-established and have gone through fine-tuning as each class builds upon previous experiences.

“Throughout the years, most of the events stay pretty consistent,” senior Lian Song, ASB secretary, said. “There’s this foundation, like rallies. There’s a lot of similar things throughout each [year]. We try to mix it up, but to a certain extent there’s always going to be the same [activities]. We take a lot from tradition.”

Not only does Leadership draw upon MVHS’s traditions, it also draws upon the traditions of other schools. Junior Christina Schuler, IDC representative of 2017, values the exchange of ideas that takes place during conferences and “swap shops”.

“We go to leadership retreats and conferences and we hear about what other schools do, and we try to implement that,” Schuler said.

But the biggest factor that plays into school events is public opinion. If the students love an event, Leadership will take note and implement similar events. So the types of events presented tend to be in response to the student body.

Unfortunately, not all of Leadership’s efforts are recognized.

“There are a lot of smaller events that go on that people don’t realize are leadership-run, like the candy cane grams, or the thanksgiving tree,” Schuler said.