Shedron is soaring after being tabbed 2025 OMUN president
Jonny Shedron recently became the first West Holmes High School student to be elected to the position of General Assembly president at the Ohio Mock United Nations event. He will assume his role in the 2025 proceedings later this fall.
While Donald Trump was recently voted in as America’s next president, a young man on a level much closer to home also will serve as a president in the upcoming year.
In a West Holmes High School first, Jonny Shedron was chosen by his Ohio Mock United Nations peers to serve as the 2025 General Assembly president next year, the highest achievable honor at the event.
In attending this year’s OMUN event in Columbus this fall, Shedron was eager to participate but never had any inkling of what was to come in terms of even running for the presidential position.
But once he decided to go for it, he went all in.
While each candidate is asked to write their own nomination speech, Shedron instead turned to something completely unique: He sang his nomination speech, rewriting the words to Chuck Berry’s 1958 classic tune “Johnny Be Good.”
Belting out the song while playing his guitar, the West Holmes junior dazzled his peers and earned the nomination with his inventive effort.
“I was very surprised,” Shedron said. “After it was all over, I just said to myself, ‘Well, that worked.’ I was totally in shock that it actually happened. When they called my name and called me up, it felt like I forgot how to walk. I felt like the Tinman from ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ But I knew what I was walking into. I figured I’d shoot for the stars and maybe land on the moon. Now I feel like I’m on the sun. I’m so pumped and so ready, and I’m taking all the advice I can get right now to prepare for it.”
Shedron said despite the levity of his song and the uniqueness of his performance, he understood this was a serious, statewide event, and he wanted to treat it as such.
His effort, which was encouraged by adviser Mindy Heffelfinger, was a smash hit and brought him the attention needed to earn the nomination.
“It felt good because I was scared to death it was going to be dead silence afterward,” Shedron said. “I had people coming up to me in the hall or in the elevator and saying, ‘It’s Johnny Be Good.’ Everyone just roared and clapped along, and it was so much fun.”
The responsibilities of being OMUN president are many in the function of the event. That was something Shedron said caused him a little consternation after he was elected, but that swiftly gave way to the thought of tackling the task.
OMUN is entirely student-led, meaning Shedron will take on a large role in the day-to-day operations of the event.
“I’ll get to be the top hombre,” Shedron said. “I’ll get to direct things. I’ll get to make sure I get people to certain places on time. I start and run the meetings and guide debates. It’s a big amount of work and dedication, but I’m excited for the challenge.”
As president, Shedron will have a team of other elected officials next year, and one face in the cabinet will be quite familiar.
Jevin Zheng will serve as the school’s first human rights council president in 2025, the fourth highest ranking position.
“I’m so excited to be able to work with Jevin,” Shedron said. “She’s so on top of things. And she’s so organized, punctual and responsible. She should be my role model. Heck, she should be everyone’s role model. She’s going to be great at it.”
As for diving into the top role, Shedron said the moment can wait as he takes time to properly prepare for the role.
Knowing he will always be the first WHHS student to ever achieve this highest honor is something he will cherish.
“I got people to remember me and recognize me, and I am so flattered,” Shedron said. “But this trip was definitely an incredible effort from our entire West Holmes team. We experienced so much success, and we were so together on everything we did. We had some great discussions on what to do in our debates, our talent shows and our resolutions. We really grew together, and it showed us how far we can push each other when we do it together. I think we were all so humbled at our success.”
It was a mountaintop experience for Shedron, Zheng and the entire group of OMUN attendees from WHHS.
It set the bar high, and as OMUN approaches in 2025, it will have a very Knights-related flavor sitting at the table of leaders.
Shedron said now they all want to not only duplicate this effort that saw the Knights bring home four major awards, but also they want to raise the bar even higher as they soar for the stars.