Introduction to Journalism contributors: Evan English, Rakim Hill, Graham Matthews, Olivia Potochnik.

Freshman class elections wrapped up this past week featuring a new position focused solely on fundraising. Class advisors Mrs. Brittney Beer and Mrs. Sarah Looney want to ensure that the class of 2026 raises enough money for the next four years and upper classmen officers agree the position is setting the freshman up for success in the future.  

Karolina Minasyan (‘26), fundraising advisor, hopes to plan events that will engage students and are successful in raising money. She wants to ensure that her class makes enough to support future freshman activities. 

“My job is basically to see what they need, what they don’t need and help save money,” Minasyan said. 

Minasyan has generated some ideas that will financially benefit the class. She imagines a carnival-type event that involves people in art and engineering classes creating booths and/or prizes. In general, fun after school events that involve paid tickets are always an option for the ‘26’s. 

“Honestly I’m jealous they have the position,” senior public directions director Maria Cabral (‘23) said. “We’re going all out fundraising this year but if we had one from the beginning we would have done way better financially.” 

However, the senior class officers have also learned from previous officer experiences and want the freshman to understand they only have four years to achieve all that they want to do. They advise going all out with events right away and appealing to the students, so they are represented accurately. 

“We like to get everyone’s opinion before making a decision,” Cabral said.  

The idea for the position on the class officer team came from lack of funds when planning upperclassmen high school experiences. As students get older, their classes need money to pay for prom venues, senior shirts, and any other activities they want to make their high school years special. As fundraising advisor, Minasyan has the role of brainstorming ideas for fundraisers that will both bring in money and capture peer attention and managing the freshman class financially. 

Advisors Looney and Beer will help the officers stay on track and offer suggestions on where they should be in the year but want the students to be the ones taking the lead. Beer emphasizes the importance of letting the freshman make mistakes and solving problems that arise. Currently, they are preparing for the upcoming spirit week and homecoming, freshman class shirts, and an activity they can host in the spring.  

For homecoming, the winning hallway theme is “Goosebumps,” the classic children’s horror novels and television show. They will be able to stand out and show their creativity to the rest of the school. The fundraising position should hopefully help fund the decorations they need, as well as the help from freshman class president Maggie Kurtz (‘26), vice president Serena Pallan (‘26), secretary Rachel Holbrook (‘26), and public relations director Olivia Clark (‘26).