The Foran Class of 2026 is on the verge of graduating, and at the helm of this group of individuals is their student government. This government is led by four leading officers: President Thao Pham, Vice President Andrew Bishop, Secretary Gavin Conte, and Treasurer Shea Pangu.
With the help of their advisors, Anna Maria Colangelo and Melissa Cacioppo, these four individuals help raise funds and put together events like the semi-formal and prom dances, ice cream socials, and the senior trip to improve their school community. They want to make sure that their fellow classmates’ time at Foran ends on a strong, memorable note.
“They all just vibe together. They all have their input on everything. They discuss every event we have. They do everything as a team,” states Cacioppo.
The officers took up their respective positions for the same common reason: they all care about their class and want to boost their school spirit. But they also wanted to put their skills to use, like Pangu, who wanted to put her managing and planning abilities to work.
“I am always collaborating with the three other officers to come up with fundraising ideas and deciding how we should allocate our money,” explains Pangu.
However, running the student government is no easy task. From trying to accumulate funds to maintain the class’s moral high, the officers were bound to face a set of challenges they had to confront.
Bishop elaborates on the struggle to find ways to raise money, asserting that, “It is really hard because all four grades are competing to raise money. We try our best to designate certain fundraisers to certain grades.”
Despite the difficulties they had to face, this group held their ground and tackled each issue to the best of their abilities. As they came together and communicated solutions, they ended up conjuring new ideas on how to solve their problems and get more students to participate in more activities. They weren’t afraid to try anything new, using the “Snap!” app as a way to raise money for the grade, and coming up with the idea to have a senior-specific spirit week.
“I was proud of all the senior events, creating new ideas never done before, like senior crowns and the senior spirit week,” proclaims Pham.
Throughout all the work they accomplished, these senior officers didn’t just impact their class as a whole, but they also grew as individuals. They have learned and developed new skills while also improving abilities they had beforehand.
“My experience in my role will definitely be important in college and in my career because it has taught me so much about listening to different perspectives, improving relationships with my peers, and communicating effectively/clearly with students, administrators, and teachers about events, activities, etc,” remarks Conte.
The Foran Class of 2026 student government officers have accomplished a lot within their four years at Foran High School, both internally for themselves and externally towards their peers. As they proceed to graduate in June and move on their own individual paths, they will take all of what they have learned and apply it to reach their own full potential.
