Freshman year marks a time of change, with students having to adjust to the new environment of high school. While a bigger, more challenging school may be an unfamiliar environment for ninth graders, of the 522 members of the 2023 class, one has called Marshall his home since 2007. It became his home when his father joined the community as a LEAD Fairfax administrative intern: Jalil Ahmed-Litz, son of principal Jeff Litz.
In terms of his general high school experience, Ahmed-Litz said he did not expect his relation to the principal to have any particular impact, but after the first few weeks, he realized he was wrong.
“I [would be] asked, ‘Jalil! Can you give me A’s?’” Ahmed-Litz said. “At first, it didn’t bother me, but it quickly grew old. Whenever there is a problem at school, people come to me. Some of them are serious like a bullying issue or advice for a problem with a teacher. Then there are people who ‘joke’ about a drug deal in the bathroom knowing it will get a rise out of me.”
Ahmed-Litz won office for the 2023 Student Government Association (SGA) in September. When running for SGA, he said he wanted to establish himself as his own person and avoid earning votes through associating himself with the principal. He said he chose to run for SGA officer in order to make a positive impact on the community.
“I ran because I wanted to use my knowledge of Marshall and my love for helping people to make a difference,” Ahmed-Litz said. “I wanted to be a voice for my class and to be a voice for those who don’t or can’t speak for themselves. Some people call the office scary; I call it where I spend my weekends.”
Aside from his duties as an SGA officer, member of the marching band and regular high school student, Ahmed-Litz’s other personal endeavors include collecting model cars and helping his dad around Marshall.
“Anything that needs to be fixed, moved or built for the benefit of Marshall, we do,” Ahmed-Litz said. “I enjoy the work, and I learn a lot. The curse that comes with it is now I find things that need to be fixed wherever I go.”