Anuva Maloo, a junior at Montgomery Blair, and Peter Boyko, a junior at Northwest, were nominated as the finalists for the 48th Student Member of the Board (SMOB) position. The final election will take place on Wednesday, Apr. 23, when middle and high school students across Montgomery County will vote for the candidate they believe best represents the student body.
Maloo is the founder and president of the Northeastern and Down County Consortiums of Montgomery County and Blair’s Class of 2026 president. She is also the director of the Yellow Foundation, an international youth-led organization focusing on ending the poverty crisis by supporting underprivileged children in Pakistan. Maloo’s policy platforms include advocating for improvement in the counselor-to-student ratio, for driver’s ed to return as an elective, and for establishing a SMOB advisory council with representation from every MCPS school.
Boyko is currently Northwest’s SGA vice president, an assistant chief of staff for the Lynne Harris student internship, and the president of Eco-Moco, a national student-led environmental organization. His policy platform includes implementing weapon detection systems, advocating for removing unnecessary graduation requirements and maintaining free AP/IB exams.
In February and March, schools elect nominating convention delegates. If a school has more than two delegates, a convention is held. The nomination convention has two balloting sets: the first ballot reduces the number of candidates to about half the original size, and the preferential ballot determines the final two candidates.
Sophomore class president Manasa Iyer values the tradition of having a SMOB because it ensures students have a voice in decisions about their education. Maloo previously contacted Iyer and asked her to join her campaign team. Iyer was taken aback by the interaction and noticed how Maloo engaged with her on a personal level. “She’s extremely down to earth and represents me as a woman of color,” Iyer said.
Sophomore Malia Bellamy, however, expressed her intention to vote for Boyko. She believes the most important aspect of SMOB is ensuring that the student voice is represented, and Boyko is the candidate for this role. “Boyko stands out to me because I believe that safety and student wellbeing are the key issues at our school and those are things he aims to fix,” Bellamy said.
Iyer also noticed the changes Maloo plans to make regarding feminine products and advocacy. “I look forward to getting our menstrual dispensers working with higher quality products along with representation in the Board of Education – especially regarding the current controversy our school is facing,” Iyer said.
Sophomore Elena Bernal also supports Maloo in her campaign. Bernal looks forward to Maloo implementing her safety and necessity plans because they will prepare the school in case of an emergency and give peace of mind to students knowing that there are measures in place. Bernal also acknowledges Maloo’s leadership experience and its importance in carrying out the position. “She already has experience being her school’s SGA president, and I think she would be someone who can positively represent our county,” Bernal said.
