When Carolina Carchi became the Chicago Board of Education’s honorary student board member last year, representing the more than 300,000 students in the district, the role didn’t intimidate her. It brought her joy.

“I realized that it wasn’t just a title,” Carchi said. “It was a commitment to listen, to advocate and to bring student voices directly into the decision making spaces.”

Now, the Clemente Community Academy senior is preparing to graduate next month and step into another role: first-generation college student. As she closes the books on her time as honorary board member, she has some advice for the student who fills her seat next year.

During Carolina Carchi’s time on the CPS School Board, it transitioned from an appointed board to a partially elected board after months of turmoil.

“Understand that you’re not just representing yourself — you’re carrying the multiple stories and experiences of students who may never get the chance to speak in a room full of adults with such influence, or in any setting that holds that power to shape the futures of the upcoming generations,” Carchi said.

Carchi’s time on the board wasn’t without moments of uncertainty. The last year has been tumultuous, with the entire board resigning in October, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez getting fired and the transition to a partially elected board .

Though as a student representative, Carchi didn’t get an official vote, she found ways to insert her voice.

Debby Pope , a board member who represents a North Side district, said voting is only the culmination of a lengthy process that requires debate. Student representatives can influence policies that affect schools or provide insight on the annual budget.

CPS Board Member Debby Pope and retired CPS teacher said Carolina Carchi, who is graduating from a neighborhood high school, was able to share insight on the needs of students from a variety of backgrounds.

Carchi, 18, played an active role in that process by “talking to people, asking questions, having lunch with people and discussing things informally, having one-on-one conversations,” Pope said.

Pope, a retired CPS bilingual high school teacher, said that as a student enrolled at a neighborhood school, Carchi was also able to provide insight into the needs of typical students.

“She’s not just reflecting the sentiment of kids at selective enrollment schools or magnet schools. She’s really there at a regular school and talking to all varieties of different students around the city and bringing those concerns and issues to us,” Pope said.

Even before becoming a board member, Carchi brought attention to ongoing struggles with staffing that neighborhood schools grapple with in particular. A Block Club Chicago article covered Carchi stepping in and teaching chemistry after the permanent teacher left. She also taught algebra her freshman year following a similar situation.

Despite not having a vote on the CPS School Board, Carolina Carchi found ways to share her perspective and the experiences of her classmates.

Those experiences convinced Carchi that she made the right choice in attending Clemente. She had originally enrolled at Westinghouse College Prep, a selective enrollment school, but decided to transfer to Clemente after two weeks.

Carchi said she felt morally obligated to attend a school in her area because she thinks neighborhood schools should be anchors in their communities and can offer as much as selective enrollment schools with the right resources.

By attending Clemente, Carchi said she felt she could better herself and help improve the school for all students.

“When we had our math teacher leave … I’m like, ‘This is where I’m most useful, this is why I came here,’ ” Carchi said. “I’m going to be the change I wish to see here.”

She’s taking that philosophy with her to college. Carchi will be attending Northwestern University in the fall. The Humboldt Park–area native is a first-generation college student. Her Ecuadorian father and Mexican mother are both immigrants who didn’t get a chance to attend university, she said.

Carolina Carchi will be the first in her family to go college when she starts at Northwestern in September.

“This is very big for my family because it’s not just a university. It’s like Northwestern University,” Carchi said. “Both of my parents and I are extremely happy.”

She sees tumult in the world she’s entering, as the Trump administration targets higher education and cracks down on immigration. She deals with uncertainty by remaining focused on her goals and finding ways to make positive changes.

“Even though there is a lot of uncertainty in the world right now, I do know that spring will come soon,” Carchi said. “And if I have to be the embodiment of spring as a leader, then I will do that.”

At Northwestern, Carchi plans to major in a STEM-related field and is looking to land in a position of influence. She may even become a teacher, she said.

“My time at CPS has given me so much resilience to seek change, so whatever path I choose to take, I plan to be that radical change and transform the society that we live in to one that helps the well-being of everyone,” she said.