He did his homework.
A Long Island teenager made history in the Herricks school district as the youngest-ever person voted to its Board of Education — thanks largely to winning over both parents and his peers by election day.
“I think this was definitely the challenge of my life,” 18-year-old Athul Santhosh told The Post.
“Basically, I just love Herricks,” added the 2025 Herricks High School grad, who will start at NYU next semester after a year at CUNY.
Santhosh says he won his seat greatly thanks to a savvy social media campaign that appealed to young parents and recent Highlander graduates who related to the young man.
Using a $1,000 campaign war chest he raised with a tutoring job, he pushed a platform of furthering student involvement budget decisions that ultimately won him the last of three open board seats with a total of 592 votes in the May 19 election.
Santhosh comfortably defeated candidates Ritesh Ramdhani, 400 votes, and Nidhi Guru, 360 votes, for the final spot.
“A lot of seniors at the high school came out to vote, a lot of the people who graduated from the class of 2025 and onwards came out to vote,” he said of his supporters.
“Freshmen through juniors who can’t vote, they would tell their parents to come out to vote.”
Santhosh said he’s making it a priority to give students better access to extracurricular activities and internships that will stand out on their college applications ahead of the new school year.
He also aims to bolster Herricks athletics once he’s sworn in on July 1 as a 19-year-old.
“Definitely I wanted to bring more of a student perspective to the school,” said Santhosh, a former student representative on the Herricks board who wants to be a math teacher.
The young man has extracurricular government experience as he works an administrative job with the Town of North Hempstead, which oversees his home hamlet, to help get potholes filled and trees removed.
Santhosh knew by the end of 12th grade that his days on campus wouldn’t end in a cap and gown.
He knocked on about 1,000 doors, planted roadside signs, in addition to having peers help run his successful online campaign since February. He says it was difficult to pay for the race’s expenses.
“Definitely a big hit on my bank account — had to cut down the matcha spending a bit,” he laughed.
Santhosh’s young age was still an obstacle ahead of the election.
“The fact that that was kind of undermined just because the fact that I was 18 was kind of frustrating,” he said.
“I had the proven experience. I’ve fought for kids on the board of education to ensure that they have the best opportunities possible, and still, just because I’m 18, some were not taking me seriously.”
The months of frustration didn’t get the best of him as, “in the end, it was all worth it,” he said.
“I’m really proud, I’m just really happy. I don’t know how to describe it.”
Santhosh has already arraigned his morning NYU classes so he can easily attend evening board meetings.
“I make sure to keep my schedule very flexible to ensure that I’m able to properly give time to the board of ed,” Santhosh said, “and to make sure the trust that was given to me does not fall through.”
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