Junior Krish Putta was elected to be First Vice President of the Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) on Mar. 12 during the MASC Convention in Ocean City. He announced his campaign online on Mar. 1 through his social media accounts, and has since gained support from several prominent figures in student advocacy, such as current SMOB Praneel Suvarna and SGA President senior Jason Liaw.
Having been a Social Media Manager for MASC as well as a certified Workshop Presenter prior to the election, he has plenty of experience in MASC. During his time as Social Media Manager, he also gained over 500 followers with more than 3000 interactions every week and led MASC Officer & Director takeovers, which involved over 5000 students. Putta has also established a Social Media Committee (SMC) with the intent of teaching students about graphic design across the state.
Putta was heavily inspired by his own experiences in student advocacy.
“I really like connecting with other people,” Putta says. “That was kind of my passion, meeting new people and connecting with people and outreaching.”
Putta is widely known throughout the many groups he is part of, as well. Through his styles of communication, some underclassmen, such as freshman MASC participant Lorena Wu, even take example from him.
“Krish is extremely driven and passionate about his advocacy endeavors and will bring a lot of experience to his new role as the 2025-2026 MASC First Vice President.” Wu says.“I’m personally very excited that he was elected for this role because I know he is incredibly capable and will bring his communication, collaboration, and teamwork skills to his new work.”
He has also been part of groups like Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association (MCR-SGA), SMOB Advisory Council, Maryland General Assembly, and Student Civic Ambassadors, among many others. Putta joined MASC just last year as a sophomore, but has big plans for the community nonetheless. His plans for his role have been titled ACT, which stands for “Advocacy, Communication, and Transparency.”
According to Putta, the biggest issues he wants to focus on are “underrepresentation in counties, increasing student engagement at all of our events, and providing accessible opportunities to get involved with statewide opportunities.”
MASC advocates across the state by holding frequent conferences and meetings, such as the Fall Leadership Conference, Winter Leadership Conference, and the annual MASC Convention. This convention is where MASC officers are voted for the next term after requiring participants to stay in Ocean City for 3 days, while officers like State SMOB are elected during the Winter Leadership Conference. These events are held in order to sharpen the leadership skills of participants, as well as connect with peers statewide, both part of and not part of the organization. The school’s Student Government body pays a membership fee to be part of MASC so that participants can go to such events.
“My experience in MASC has provided me with great opportunities to connect with students and learn from their advocacy journeys,” Wu says. “MASC has allowed me to meet and connect with so many different, amazing leaders from across the state, which has made me grow as a leader.”
Since MASC represents students from all over Maryland, their officers often come from different counties. Of the 4 officers, Krish Putta and Second Vice President Jeremy Zhang both come from MCPS, while President Jordan Salkeld and Treasurer Goodness Alafe are both from Baltimore County.
Zhang, being the Second Vice President, must lead the Action in the Middle School Department, which is meant to implement the voices of middle school students in MASC. The position itself is taken by an elected middle school official. Salkeld, president-elect, is a junior from Towson High School and is also the president of the Baltimore County Student Councils.
