Thousands of students waved their phone flashlights in unison at the first indoor rally since 2019. Over 500 seniors went on a picnic at Saratoga Springs. Vendors and students gathered at the green for First Friday. These are the first few leadership events that new Activities Director and former English teacher Deana Querubin has led to kick off the 2023-24 school year.
After former Activities Director Jerell Maneja left to work at another high school, the school notified teachers of the vacant position, Querubin said. Querubin was the only teacher to express interest, she talked to the administration, and she ultimately became the new director, she added. Her goal as director is to build community within MHS, she said.
“This was always a role I wanted since I started teaching,” Querubin said. “It was always one of the goals to get to, if not the goal to get to, in terms of my career.”
This year’s leadership program is a “work in progress” in which leadership students teach Querubin about how events were conducted in the past as she provides ideas for improvement, ASB President Nhuhao Nguyen said. Students face a difficult transition because the committee structure has changed and leadership is hosting new events, she added.
“In a way, it’s a little more organized,” Nguyen said. “(Querubin) definitely has it planned out how she wants some things done, and as student leaders, we work together to see how we can make an alternate plan to make it happen or make it come to life.”
Querubin has been proactive with introducing new ideas and has brought “more positive vibes” to the class, Nguyen said. Students are collaborating and being more productive in class, she added.
“I love that the (leadership) kids are so fun,” Querubin said. “They’re doers. It doesn’t take much to motivate them (…) People are probably still buying into how I do things because I do things very differently than what they’re probably used to in the past couple of years that they’ve been in it (leadership). So the approach is different, but I’m having fun with it.”
As the activities director, Querubin intends to revive lost traditions and create new events, focusing on quality over quantity of events, she said. The community has already positively responded to events like the indoor rally and First Friday, she added.
“I’m very proud of her for pulling stuff together over the summer so quickly, kind of last minute because (her role) didn’t become official until summer,” College and Career Specialist and Querubin’s fellow volleyball coach Marissa Canez said. “It was crazy to see her pull it all together and be so successful, and it was nice to have the rally back inside. The energy and vibes were different.”
This year, leadership will focus on dances by hosting more dances like the winter dance and involving alumni in homecoming festivities to uphold the traditional purpose of homecoming, Querubin said. Other potential events include seasonal movie nights and a multicultural rally, and in general, leadership will focus on promoting and celebrating the accomplishments of the student body and alumni, she added.
Querubin was in leadership when she was an MHS student and was vice president for her master’s program student association at Santa Clara University, she said. Her more recent leadership experiences include planning social events as a Digital Business Academy (DBA) teacher and being on the MHS sunshine committee that plans events for staff, she added.
Querubin is well-suited for the Activities Director role because she built relationships with students in a classroom setting, Canez said.
“We’re the same—we’re kids at heart,” Canez said. “We want the kids to have fun and we know it’s all about the kids, and that’s something about her that I think will make her successful in this position.”
Inspired by her experience as an MHS leadership student, Querubin devotes Wednesdays to students’ personal development through journaling and reading texts like “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie, she said.
“It’s funny because, at the beginning of the year, people were like, ‘Oh, I heard you’re going to make them read a book. I heard you’re gonna make them write an essay,’” Querubin said. “Yeah, because, in some ways, we need them to grow as leaders, and that has lots to do with reflecting on what they do.”
Querubin copes with the stress of her new role by taking care of her mental and physical well-being, she said. Her commitment to the role is a testament to how much she loves MHS, she added.
“This role is like a passion project for me,” Querubin said. “I love this school. I literally will go hours to do what I can for the school.”
The next few years will be a process of developing her system for teaching leadership, Querubin said.
“Once I get it down, I can really see myself being in this role for a while because I feel like this role is giving me space to make a real impact,” Querubin said. “I’m dealing directly with the kids. I love coaching, and I feel like this is another avenue of coaching–motivating them (the students), keeping them accountable, making sure we work together, having one main goal, and we all reach it together.”