Katharine Scruggs says that since being elected the student member of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education in March she's fielded no comments from students about the quality of the county's education, no questions about her vision for the schools.
As students, they have more immediate concerns.
"Sometimes if I'm sitting in class a student will be like, 'Can you please make school lunch go faster?'" said Scruggs, 17, a rising senior at South River High School who is serving for this coming academic year. She is the first student from South River on the board.
"Serving on the board is really cool," she added, "but it certainly makes it sweeter that I'm the first one from South River. The board has been a really good experience. Everyone is willing to help you. I'm just hoping that I can take it back to some of the youngster students at South River and say, 'Look at how cool this is.'"
The Davidsonville resident was elected by the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils and then appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley. She said that she envisions querying fellow students about matters that come up this year, as she did following her recent first meeting when the issue of school start times arose.
At the meeting, Scruggs said that she took a seat and the magnitude of being on the board hit home. Overall, she said the meeting went as she anticipated, except that, surprisingly, it took a while to grasp how to use the microphone.
"I figured it out eventually," she said.
Board member Kevin Jackson had praise for his young colleagues who have served on the panel.
"In many ways, I have learned from keeping my mouth shut and actually listening to the student board members, and I expect Katharine to be a valued member and a breath of fresh air," he said. "I told her to enjoy her time on the board and learn as much as she could and provide a student's perspective."
As someone who relishes service and volunteer work, Scruggs is anticipating an event-filled senior year.
In addition to weighing in on the many issues that board members face, she'll find time for completing challenging classwork, volunteering at several homeless shelters, leading a Girl Scout troop, babysitting for church and serving as design editor for the school's literary magazine.
Not to mention planning for the senior prom and choosing a four-year college.
But Scruggs says she'd have it no other way.
"The board is my priority along with school, and that's how it's going to be this year," said Scruggs, who added that currently she's looking at colleges and leaning toward American, New York and Columbia universities.
"I like keeping busy," Scruggs said. "Sometimes when I get home it's like a mad dash because I have lots of AP homework, but then I have to run off and do the Girl Scout thing and then go off and volunteer. But the more you do to stay busy, the easier it is to keep track of things.
"And I'm the kind of person who is ridiculously organized, so I'll have my planner [available]. It's funny because my friends call me and say, 'Can you hang out?' And I'll say, 'Hold on, let me get my schedule,' because I have to keep things cataloged that way."
Anne Arundel County Board of Education officials say that the county's student member position is the only one in the nation on a local board with full voting rights.
"That was initially one of the things that had drawn me to the position," Scruggs said, "because there is such a sense of, 'Don't mess this up,' and that this is a really important kind of thing. You realize that there are people who could potentially see you as someone that's messing up the system.
"When you're up there, you're like, 'OK, this is a new sense of responsibility, but you can do this.'"