By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — As a newly appointed student representative to the Board of Education, Souleye Kebe has already added a fresh perspective to the panel.

At his first meeting last week, during a presentation of the school district’s efforts to revise its social studies curriculum, Kebe told Lauren Francese, chair of the Staples High School social studies department he was curious what part Artificial Intelligence, or AI, will have in shaping the district curriculum going forward.

“It already has and will continue to have massive social impacts on current events,” Kebe said.

Francese told him and the board that, as a matter of fact, several teachers have centered their professional development goals this year around AI.

“Teachers are really curious themselves and aim to learn more … and consider how it makes sense for social studies,” Francese said.

Kebe, a 16-year-old junior, was selected from among several students that board Chair Lee Goldstein said applied for the position and who Staples faculty presented to the board as the finalist.

Board interviews were held in an executive session on Nov. 4.

“All the finalists were excellent and would have served with distinction,” Goldstein said “Souleye impressed us with his passion and idealism.”

On Thursday, Goldstein told the meeting’s audience: “I usually say no clapping, but I would love you to welcome Souleye.”

He joins Calum Madigan, now a senior, as student reps to the board. The two have no voting powers, but are there to share a student’s perspective on issues the board is discussing.

Like many Staples High School students, Kebe counts “The Porch” at Christies as a favorite spot in town to hang out, but his tenure in the community has been shorter than most fellow students.

He came in freshman year under auspices of A Better Chance of Westport, part of a network that places deserving students in high-performing private and public schools across the country.

In town since 2002, ABC of Westport currently hosts eight students — freshmen through seniors — who live together in a house staffed with resident directors and tutors, and attend Staples.

“Being at Staples for the first few days was a bit of a shock, but I very quickly found my place there and it’s now one of my favorite places to be,” said Kebe in an email after the meeting.

At Staples, Kebe is the Class of 2026 elected officer and vice president of the Students of Color Union.

He runs track and cross country and has a passion for political science. His favorite classes at Staples include AP US History and AP Computer Science.

Kebe said the position of being a student rep to the school board would give him a taste of public service and the opportunity to speak out on what students are thinking about.

“To let them know what is going on,” he said. “I can’t wait to help in any way I can.”

Madigan, who is in his second year as a student representative, said he has known Souleye since he was a freshman.

“He is an amazing kid and I am super excited to be working with him,” Madigan said.

Daniele Dickerson and Dale Mauldin, executive directors of Student Life at ABC of Westport, called Souleye a dedicated and hard-working student.

“He has such refreshing energy and a drive to achieve and grow that is admirable,” they said in an email. “He is a treasured member of our house and community. ABC of Westport is so proud of him for his appointment to the student representative position, and we know he will do his best to speak truthfully and thoughtfully about all that is presented to him.”

Kebe is from Harlem, N.Y., where he has a large family.

“I have a lot of siblings,” he said. At first, he said it was hard being away from them , but that he adjusted quickly. He returns home during the summer.

In a short introduction to Kebe on the ABC of Westport website, he said his favorite quote is from Martin Luther King: “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed.”

Before Staples, he attended George Jackson Academy, an all-boys private school in New York.

The student representative position is for two school years. Next year, Kebe will be the senior rep and a new junior will be seated.

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.