Latrecia Allen is the student representative of the Korea District Advisory Council and the DODDS-Pacific Area Advisory Council and the Advisory Council for Dependents Education. (Courtesy of Latrecia Allen)
Latreicia Allen’s parents describe her as a “natural born leader,” an assessment the 16-year-old hopes to fulfill in a big way with goals including one day sitting in the Oval Office.
Allen, a high school senior at Taegu American School, a Department of Defense Dependents School in Korea, is no stranger to leadership.
She served as president of her sophomore and junior classes. While junior class president, she also began her duties as the student representative of the Korea District Advisory Council and the DODDS-Pacific Area Advisory Council as well as the Advisory Council for Dependents Education in Arlington, Va.
The ACDE student representative position rotates between DODDS-Pacific and DODDS-Europe every two years, said David Menig, chief of staff for DODDS-Pacific and Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools-Guam. The council also includes representatives for the secretaries of Defense and Education.
Allen said Maurgarite Green, Taegu American School’s assistant principal, nominated her to be the Korea district representative at the end of her sophomore year in 2004. She had to compete with students from Guam, Japan and Okinawa to earn the Pacific area student representative position, she said.
As the only youth on these councils, “it is my duty to speak on behalf of all DODDS students,” said Allen, daughter of Lena and James Allen Sr.
Allen said she wanted to be the student representative because she wanted to be one of the voices that influence the course of her education.
“I want to bring forth new ideas and suggestions to the council that can improve the way the educational system is viewed by parents, teachers and, most importantly, students,” Allen said.
As part of her duties, Allen spent time this summer at DODDS schools in England.
“After observing students in England, I suggest the council should emphasize the importance of the (Department of Defense Education Activity) standards,” she said.
DODEA standards are the expectations for curricula and students and are listed at www.dodea.edu.
Allen, whose own curriculum includes advanced placement classes, said she has always been interested in the educational system. However, she said, after high school she plans to major in law and minor in music education.
This year, Allen also will serve as Taegu American’s Student Council president. In addition to her student government activities, the 3.9 GPA student participates in band, chorus, cheerleading, the newspaper and yearbook.
She also has big plans for her future.
“When I grow up, I want to be the first female African-American president of the United States,” she said
