KDL pupil appointed junior mayor of Joburg

King David High School Linksfield Grade 11 pupil Ricci Waksman is going places and she’s not even finished high school. Waksman was inducted as co-mayor of the Johannesburg Junior Council on 17 March.

“I hope to make an impact on communities by helping the council’s events and projects run as best as they can and to show the people we help that they matter and there’s a place for them and people who care for them in the world,” Waksman told the SA Jewish Report. She will lead the council together with Thando Kambule from St Johns.

Established in 1928, the council is a prominent youth-led non-profit organisation. Its young leaders aim to have a positive impact on the lives of others and mobilise Joburg youth to create tangible change.

Waksman has been at King David since Grade R, and will be co-mayor for one year before the next mayors are voted in. After that, she will assist her successors.

When she was in Grade 10, Waksman was chosen by previous councillors and the teachers involved to be one of the two students to represent the school on the council during 2022.

“Once I was part of the council, we got a little bit involved and all got to know each other,” she says. “Then the 80 students from the 40 schools in Joburg that make up the council had elections to vote for the two co-mayors and other executive positions. I was voted in as mayor by my peers on the council from all different schools.”

The students voted for someone who could lead well and who would benefit the council as much as possible. “Luckily, I was the person they thought would do so,” says Waksman.

As co-mayor, she oversees the council and helps to plan its projects and initiatives.

“The council is divided into five committees – advocacy, arts and culture, environment, sports and recreation, and outreach,” she says. “Each committee individually runs its own projects and initiatives. Then there are council-wide projects and initiatives. As mayor, it’s my job to oversee the planning and assist with the planning of all of these events.”

Waksman is an academic achiever, and is involved in first-aid at the school. “I’m one of the seniors in our first-aid team and am involved on the sidelines at all sports practices and matches. I help if someone gets hurt. I’m also very involved in public speaking at the school. I still love dancing and other cultural activities like that.”

She says her biggest achievement at school so far is receiving colours for various things such as academics, first-aid, public speaking, and dancing.