Class of '09 (seniors)

Melissa Kim
“;I think, well, being a leader you are in a position of power and you get to work with and above people—your people—so I think a good leader has to have the quality of knowing what the people need rather than what the people want, and finding a good balance between them. You also have to have great communication skills because you might be on a different level with them, language-wise or skill-wise. ... Definitely, I think Barack Obama has great communication skills. When he speaks, you can feel the power in his voice and he sort of has a resonance similar to that of Martin Luther King Jr., perhaps one of the greatest speakers ... in our past time. And I think that he has a great campaign and I support him.”;

Sachiko Slomoff
“;Great leaders have the ego, action and conviction to make decisions that help the group they lead progress, but they also have the humility to admit to their own limitations. They always include and seek to advocate for the voices of the wiser and the downtrodden, and in doing so, they help create and piece together a vision that's both worth looking at and 'easy on the eyes.' Obama clearly reflects great leadership qualities; he has to. He's our only real plausible hope right now for the progression of America's administration.”;

Class of '10 (Juniors)

Brenda Light
“;A good leader should have the ability to guide others towards a direction that'll prove best not for just the immediate group of people that it'll affect, but for most everyone. I don't think that we can really conclude who of our presidential or vice presidential candidates exhibits the most leadership qualities because they haven't been given the full chance to. ... (Obama) along with McCain haven't been given the chance to show their leadership; they've only been given a chance to exhibit their oration skills. And in my opinion, I don't think that we can already settle on who is the better leader.”;

Class of '11 (sophomores)

Michelle Chen
“;I think a leader should have strong goals and they should be very progressive. So far, I think Obama is a better candidate than McCain in terms of leadership because I feel like he knows what he's doing. And sometimes in a leader, you need that assurance, that everything's going to be okay—and Obama has that. Go Obama!”;

Class of '13 (Grade 8)

Joy Ogasawara
“;I think a leader should be confident and they should know what they're doing. (They should) respect other people's ideas. (About the candidate) I'm not sure.”;

Class of '14 (Grade 7)

Angela Assante
“;I think a good leader needs responsibility and intuition. John McCain has experience and so ... he should know what to do, which is intuition.”;

Class of '15 (Grade 6)

Michelle Pang
“;A leader is responsible, respectful, trustworthy and takes the initiative. ... Barack Obama (because) he's awesome!”;

Aryaa Rajouria
“;A leader is someone that is respectful, responsible, kind and ... can speak out loud. ... I agree with her (Pang, about Obama).”;