bbin娱乐平台 Senior Yiannis Asikis ’25 Serves as Student Representative on MA Board of Education
As the sole student representative and a full voting member on the Massachusetts Board of Elementary & Secondary Education (BESE), bbin娱乐平台 senior Yiannis Asikis has an outsize impact on shaping the future of education in the Commonwealth.
The mission of BESE is to strengthen Massachusetts’ public education system so that every student is prepared to succeed in postsecondary education, compete in the global economy, and understand the rights and responsibilities of American citizens. Through his work on the Board, Yiannis represents the voices and opinions of all 896,103 K-12 students in public, private, and parochial schools in Massachusetts, and serves as a liaison from the Board to the State Student Advisory Council (SSAC).
Yiannis earned his role on the BESE Board through his work on the SSAC, an organization comprised of student representatives chosen by their peers to help make decisions about state educational policy and student rights. Every secondary school in Massachusetts can send two delegates to their regional advisory council, with the state divided into five regional councils. From there, representatives are elected to serve on the State Student Advisory Council (SSAC). Yiannis first learned about SSAC through an internship at the Massachusetts State House in the summer of 2023 and brought the opportunity to bbin娱乐平台’s attention. His peers at bbin娱乐平台 selected him as a delegate for the Greater Boston Regional Student Advisory Council (GBRSAC), where he was later elected to represent the region on SSAC. This year, Sofia Shih ’26 serves alongside Yiannis as bbin娱乐平台’s representatives on the Greater Boston Regional Council. In the 2024-2025 school year, Yiannis’s fellow members on the State Student Advisory Council elected him to serve as its Chair, which automatically entitles him to a seat on the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education.
Massachusetts is one of only six states, in addition to Washington, DC, to grant their student representatives full voting powers on its Board of Elementary & Secondary Education, and is one of just 20-30 states nationwide to include student representation. The Board’s responsibilities include approving learning standards; voting on charter school applications; deciding when to intervene in the state’s lowest-performing districts; and hiring the commissioner. In addition to a student representative, The MA BESE Board includes the Secretary of Education and nine members appointed by the Governor. Those members must include a parent representative, a labor representative, and a business representative. This makes Yiannis one of 11 members shaping education policy and communities statewide.
Of the responsibility of representing all student voices in Massachusetts, Yiannis remarks:
“To facilitate education, students must be thought of as participants in, not merely recipients of, the educational process. I understand that my background may seem unique: though I currently attend a private school, I spent my early years in the Brookline public school system, attending through the eighth grade. To advocate effectively, I have had to listen to and understand the shared struggles students face, such as disparities in funding and access to educational resources. By stepping into others’ shoes, I’ve come to realize that while our school buildings may differ, the challenges students face—whether due to resources, funding, or support—are often shared in ways that transcend the walls of any particular school.
Those formative years as an immigrant adjusting to life in the States sparked my passion for student advocacy. I’ve seen firsthand the impact that an inclusive, supportive school environment can have, and I’m here to ensure that every student, regardless of background, feels represented in our decisions. With that responsibility in mind, I hold myself accountable in every vote I take. I regularly meet with students from diverse educational settings, including CTE programs, public schools, and virtual academies, to ensure that their voices, the ones most impacted by our decisions, remain at the center of every conversation.”
Yiannis’s experience as Chair of the SSAC and as student representative on the BESE Board has inspired him to pursue other public service opportunities. This past summer, Yiannis interned in the office of Senator Sal N. DiDomenico, Assistant Majority Leader in the State Senate, a contact he made through a bbin娱乐平台 Transit Club outing to the State House to advocate for local transportation concerns. Of this experience, Yiannis says: “The connections I made leading out of the Transit Club outing were critical, opening doors to policymaking spaces I hadn’t imagined myself in before.” Building on this experience, Yiannis is currently writing his senior thesis on the housing crisis in Greater Boston. His research, informed by his work in Senator DiDomenico’s office, examines housing legislation at both the local and national levels, analyzing which policies have the greatest impact on affordability and accessibility.
Reflecting on his advocacy work and a potential career in public service, Yiannis shares: “Massachusetts is known for being a leader in the educational sphere. But listening to public comments at BESE board meetings makes it clear that there’s still a lot of work to be done. Whatever I do in public policy, I want to make sure I’m actively bringing in stakeholders—that’s the overarching theme. I want to make sure that everyone feels seen and that their voices are heard.”
