Each year in connection with the MEA Conference for Aspiring and Early Career Educators, Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) members are invited to vote for state leaders who will serve as the AEM Board of Directors. This year, we are pleased to announce our members have elected Abriana White as President and Aryana Jharia as Vice President.

White previously served on the AEM Board of Directors as the Political Action At-Large Representative in 2021-2022 and as Vice President in 2022-2023. She currently serves as President of Wayne State University’s AEM Chapter. White is an elementary education major from Wayne State University.

Jharia previously served on the AEM Board of Directors as the Eastern Michigan University Chapter Representative. She currently serves the President of Eastern Michigan University’s AEM Chapter. Jharia is a secondary education major focusing on English language arts and writing at Eastern Michigan University.

In addition to their work on the AEM Board of Directors, both White and Jharia have worked together on Wayne State University’s Next Gen program which is a partnership with MEA operating through an NEA GPS grant that hosts a two-week summer residency program for high school students interested in exploring a career in education. They are busy working on the planning for the July 2023 Next Gen program as well as continuing the growth and engagement of the Aspiring Educators of Michigan program.