What’s your name? What’s your grade? Chiku Elue, senior.

What song describes who you are? Honestly, I would probably say any Afrobeat song. 

What’s your biggest accomplishment? What are you most proud of? Any of my community involvement work, just connecting with people and actually making substantial change in the Skokie community. Something that I’ve been proud of doing, I’ve of course been in Dance Marathon (DM), last year The Night Of, showing the amount of money we raised. The BSU (Black Student Union) assembly, I’ve been a part of that since my freshman year, the sweat and tears that have gone into that preparation has been really meaningful to me. And outside of Niles North, doing Friend Squad at the Skokie Public Library, that’s been something that has been meaningful to me as well. Anything community involved, that is very dear to me. 

What’s Friend Squad at the Skokie Public Library? It’s a space where, a lot of times either kids with autism or kids who just want an open space who want to collaborate and have fun with people, can come together and basically meet new friends and have a space they feel very comfortable in. [The event] happens once a month.

What extracurricular activities are you involved in? My involvement this year has sort of been closed off, more so, because I’ve focused my attention on fewer clubs. But throughout my high school life, I’ve been in Poetry Club, I’m the president of Step Club, I’m an executive on DM, I’m part of BSU. I’m part of student council, I’m a liaison for TCSI, which is a branch of the district office where they help implement technology. They have two representatives for each school, so I’ve done that for student council. I’ve been a part of Coding Club. I’ve also done Science Olympiad for a short while.

What’s Step Club? It used to be really big, but our sponsor left. It’s basically a dance club where you make rhythm and beats with your body. So like clapping, stomping, stuff like that. A lot of times, we used to perform at the BSU assembly. Our sponsor left, so we’re looking for a new sponsor. It’s been hard getting the club started again.

What’s your involvement in DM? So last year, I was an executive for Special Events, and this year I’m an executive for Public Relations. Last year, I was someone who was responsible for making events happen. TBAY, which was our auction event, this year they did pie-in-the-face. And I also helped with the Thrift Store. Special Events is also responsible for Backlot Bash at the beginning of the year, the whole club is, but Special Events helps that get going. And this year, as a Public Relations executive, I’ve helped out with posters that go around the school, creating those. My other colleagues on Public Relations, work on Social Media because I’m not on Social Media much. 

Why is student government important to you? I feel like Student Council is a space where you have a lot of power as a student to make changes that your peers literally are asking for. There aren’t a lot of opportunities where administration listens to students. I feel like Student Council is one of those opportunities for adults to take kids seriously. Throughout my time in student council, I’ve had to have meetings with the principal, the assistant principal, both Mr. Felton and Ms. Bolech. I’ve met Mr. Moore, the superintendent, the director of security. You just meet a lot of adults who are responsible for the way our daily lives at school go. Having a say in the [rules] they implement is important and sometimes it’s very difficult to be a representative, you have to remember that you’re just talking about yourself, you’re talking about other students in the school. So trying to balance my own opinions and what my friends are telling me and what random kids in my grade are telling me. 

What’s your involvement in BSU? I’ve been a part of BSU since freshman year, I don’t even remember how I initially joined the club. It’s probably a friend that dragged me. It’s a space that is really important to me because you get to see students that are like you and have similar backgrounds [to yours]. Not saying we’re the same, but we have lots of similar stories that unite us. Being a part of that club has made me have a closer connection in the suburbs of Skokie to my Blackness and to my culture as not just a Black American, but a Nigerian American. It’s a club that’s really dear to me. Hosting the events, working with the other clubs around the school, including student council, we have the Hate Speech assembly coming up. Or the Students Against Racism last year. It has really felt like a club that has shielded me from some of the harsh realities of the world.

What are your plans post-high school? Where do you see yourself in five years? I’m hoping to study computer science after high school and I’m not sure which college yet. I have until May 1 to decide. I’m just weighing my options, whether I’m going to stay in-state or out-of-state. I definitely know I want to major in computer science and after I graduate I do want to come back to the Chicagoland community and try to at least get other girls interested in it because it is a field that is predominantly male and also it isn’t really a space with a lot of minorities in it. I do know I want to do something with that.

Who’s someone that inspires you? I have three people. My mom of course. She’s just been a woman that I’ve learned a lot from and has guided me a lot in my life. I would also say Ms. Kemp, she was our former sponsor of Step Club and Poetry Club. She’s really pushed me to explore different hobbies and different sides of me that I thought didn’t exist. I never thought of myself as a dancer but she pushed me to become more outgoing and take more risks. Even with poetry club. I could never see myself in a club like that, but with her, I was able to explore that more. And my last person I would say is Dear. Dear was a person I met at Oakton Community College. I was able to meet Dear through Ms. Edelson. I did this program called “Code Elevate” that Ms. Edelson posted and Dear was the coordinator of that program. It was essentially a program designed to help girls of color to learn how to code. I talk to her to this day. She’s just someone who pushes me to always take risks and always advocate for myself. And if no one advocates for you– you are the only one who can advocate for you. That’s something she really taught me and I’m always inspired by her.

What advice would you give a 13-year-old version of yourself? I would probably tell myself to take a deep breath and never be afraid to ask for help. There’s just so many resources in our community. Speaking to just Niles North alone, the Point, a huge resource. Or just teachers and friends. I would say if you never ask, you’re never going to know what’s out there and never be afraid to look dumb. Because the question you’re too afraid to ask is probably on the mind of ten other people.