Kevin Bokoum is a senior at North Hagerstown High School in Washington County, Maryland. He studies in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Magnet Program. Elected by a delegation of 400+ secondary school students in grades 6–12, and then appointed by the Governor of Maryland, he serves as the 36th Student Member of the Maryland State Board of Education.
Mr. Bokoum was born to African immigrants who came to the United States in the 1990's and then settled in Maryland for educational opportunities. As a result of seeing his parents drive for education, Mr. Bokoum knows well the transformative power that education holds as the great equalizer.
Mr. Bokoum has strong leadership skills and a deep desire to help others. He has been involved in student council since 6th grade, but became heavily involved in student advocacy when he entered High School. Mr. Bokoum has served as a Divisional Liaison on the Maryland Association of Student Councils Executive Board representing Washington, Allegany, and Garrett County. He also served as a member of the Maryland Center for School Safety Student Focus Group and served on the Hagerstown Youth Advisory Council.
Mr. Bokoum has held many prominent positions and advocated heavily for student interests. Recently he served as the 35th Student Member of the Washington County Board of Education where he tackled COVID-19 educational policy, advocated for the fine arts, school infrastructure, extracurricular funding and curriculum diversification. Additionally, throughout his term Mr. Bokoum aided significantly in reviewing board policy with a strong equity focus as well as proposing recommended changes to Washington County Board of Education policies.
Mr. Bokoum does not limit himself to the county level; he has given written comments and oral testimony before the Maryland General Assembly. He also has attended and presented at a myriad of conferences, a few being the Maryland Association of Boards of Education conference, the National Student Council Conference, Lead Conferences, Region 6 Conference and numerous other state, county and local conferences.
As a result of Mr. Bokoum’s involvement in youth policy and the many diverse students he has met from every corner of our state along the way, he is incredibly honored and excited to advocate for the diverse 890,000+ students of our state in our unwavering pursuit of a world-class education which promotes equity and excellence at its forefront.