Meet the 2025-2026 Big Sib Chairs!

The Big Sib Chairs (BSCs) for the 2025-2026 school year were recently announced; juniors Max Abraham, Catherine Chan, Elijah Choi, Izo Kawaguchi, and Ellie Mak were selected by the 2024-2025 chairs—seniors Raaita Anwar, Rachel Alvarez, Ushoshi Das, Adeline Sauberli, and Munem Tajwar—to continue and build upon the program. 

 The process of applying to become a BSC requires candidates to have previously served as a Big Sib. They must then receive recommendations from two little sibs, a teacher, and their homeroom leader. Afterwards, the applicants participate in a 15-minute interview with the current five BSCs, where they are asked about their future plans in leading the program, their reasoning for why they want to be a BSC, and their experiences as a Big Sib. 

When determining the next BSCs, the current chairs searched for standout qualities in their applicants, including initiative, responsibility, and teamwork. At the core of being a BSC is dedication to the Big Sib program and genuine care for the Stuyvesant community. “I wanted to see people who would lead [the program] and shape it and take it further, and represent the program. In a way, that makes Big Sibs really believe in what they’re doing,” Sauberli said.

Alvarez emphasized the learning curve that comes with this responsibility and thus, the importance of adaptability. “I wish I had known earlier that it’s okay to make mistakes because we’re not supposed to be perfect, we’re supposed to be there for littles,” Alvarez said. 

BSCs need to be able to remain calm under pressure and manage the large responsibilities of the role. As such, the extensive interview is necessary to confirm that the applicants are prepared for the responsibilities of being a chair. “The interview puts applicants through some of the pressures they’ll face in the role, like dealing with a major event falling apart or managing tough decisions in the moment,” Das said.

Perhaps most importantly, the BSCs are a team, which makes collaboration a vital characteristic for applicants to possess. “A big thing we did in the application process was getting a feel for how each applicant would work in a group with other hypothetical BSCs, as they would be spending numerous hours over the next year collaborating with each of them,” Tajwar said in an email interview. As the leaders of the organization tasked with welcoming freshmen into the Stuyvesant student body, being able to work together and coordinate their efforts to create the most open and kind environment is an essential part of being a BSC.

Abraham serves as deputy captain of Stuyvesant’s Mock Trial team and is a member of the Congressional Debate team. He also works at his synagogue, where he serves as a teaching assistant for kids in kindergarten through sixth grade, which he described as particularly impactful. “I’m working with little kids a lot, helping them find their place. My main priority is that everyone has a place where they feel comfortable and happy because when that’s true, then the class or activity goes better and is going to have the best impact as a whole,” Abraham said. 

Chan captains Stuyvesant’s Mock Trial team, serves as Junior Caucus Events Director, and is also a member of the Congressional Debate team. She became a Big Sib for a unique reason; having transferred from Brooklyn Tech at the start of her sophomore year, she understands the challenges transfer students face and wants them to also feel connected to their new community through the Big Sib program. “I met one of my closest friends at Camp Stuy, and am super grateful for that,” Chan said. “Camp Stuy can really help [incoming students] meet new people before even coming into such a competitive and scary environment.” Chan said, “I try to be as welcoming and inclusive as possible and am super excited to make the Big Sib program even more useful for freshmen.”

Choi edits for the Sports department of The Spectator. He is also a member of Model United Nations and the ARISTA Events Committee. He has also served as SING! Band Director during both his sophomore and junior year. Choi possesses a unique experience as a Big Sib for 3JA, the homeroom for sophomore transfer students. “Just being able to see them grow as students, as people, as members of the Stuyvesant community [and] how I’ve been a part of that development has been very rewarding for me to see and participate in,” Choi said. “I really appreciate how this program has given me the opportunity to have such a positive impact on so many new students at Stuy.”

Kawaguchi is involved in SING! and FTC Robotics. He enjoys playing basketball and the guitar, and collecting plastic Gundam models. He became a Big Sib largely due to his love for open houses. “It has to be the open houses, you know? The adrenaline [rush] when you’re giving a tour,” Kawaguchi said. “[My Big Sib] Jessie, she’s a great role model, and I think she developed me a lot in terms of my social skills. To be honest, freshman [and] sophomore year I wasn’t that sociable. I have to say, having somebody like that really helped me get out of my shell.”

Mak is a novice director in Speech and Debate and a member of ARISTA Operations. Outside of school, she has been tutoring for the Metis Project since the summer of her sophomore year. She also volunteers at her Chinese school every Saturday. Mak applied to become a BSC because of her natural motherly role with freshmen during debate tournaments. “I think it was just a part of me that feels I should be a mentor to the people who are younger than me,” Mak said. “I’ve really interacted with a lot of freshmen from sophomore year […] at tournaments. I’m also their mom because they can’t figure out how to take care of themselves.”

The ultimate goal of the program is to help freshmen adjust to their new environment as smoothly as possible, a mission the 2025-2026 chairs want to preserve. “The Big Sib program is a really powerful organization, helping freshmen find their place at Stuyvesant either through a club or just making them feel like they have a friend looking out for them,” Abraham said. “I want to take everything the program is already doing well and make it better.”

However, the BSCs are not only focused on maintaining the program’s core mission, but are also eager to expand on its success with new ideas to foster homeroom camaraderie and school spirit. “We were thinking it would be interesting to have a playlist from each homeroom and we have more competitions between homerooms, ” Kawaguchi said. 

Building on creating friendly competition, Mak hopes to implement a point-based system to keep homerooms engaged throughout the year. “We could collect points based on the cohorts—field day, fastest name memorized, and homeroom with the most whatever,” Mak said.

Beyond just events and competition, Choi hopes to encourage more personal connection. “So they can actually find someone they are very invested in talking to, someone they can relate to more. So they can get their experiences heard by a lot more Big Sibs,” Choi said. 

The 2024-2025 BSCs are looking forward to seeing how Abraham, Chan, Choi, Kawaguchi, and Mak take on the responsibility of BSC. While they acknowledge the position requires immense dedication, they also have complete confidence in the 2025-2026 chairs. Their advice to them is to focus on the heart of the program. “It can be a lot of work, and sometimes the logistical details can get overwhelming, but at the heart of it all, this is about people,” Das said. 

Sauberli added that supporting the school community is the best motivation to improve and continue the program. “BSCs are faced with a big task: the goal of making people feel like they belong at the school,” Sauberli said. “Trying things and creating new traditions for the school is really important. My advice is to go for it and to support each other’s ideas.”

The 2025-2026 BSCs have a full year ahead to continue and improve the longstanding program, and there is no doubt that they will do a wonderful job. “I am already so proud of the five of them and what they’ve done so far, and I am excited to see what they will be able to accomplish over the next year,” Tajwar said.