You never know who you will meet on the school track team.
When Briarcliff High School junior Sofia Cruz was a freshman, having just arrived from Pocantico Hills (POCO), she met fellow freshman Hannah Tashiro. The two decided to run together for Class President and have been co-presidents for their class ever since sophomore year.
“I was Class Secretary during seventh and eighth grade at POCO and Hannah was eighth-grade president at Briarcliff Middle School, so when I found out that she was looking for someone to run with for Sophomore Class President, I joined her,” Sofia said.
For the past two years, the two students put heavy emphasis on fundraising for their class.
“As Class Presidents, our goal is to raise money for our senior prom. We didn’t have a lot of money starting out as sophomores, so that was our main focus,” Hannah said.
Throughout the years, they were able to organize many successful fundraisers.
“We did a super successful Taylor Swift singalong fundraiser and even a recent Chipotle Night fundraiser. We are selling bouquets for the graduation, and have started selling senior sweatshirts for next year. We have also done a few car washes, as a fundraiser, including one that’s taking place this weekend,” Sofia said.
The two students are especially proud of putting together their upcoming senior class trip, which will take place on September 18.
“We will go to Boundless Adventures, which is an outdoor ropes course park, and it will be $27 per person, so I hope all of the seniors can go,” Hannah said. “Principal Diana Blank applied for a grant through PNW BOCES on our behalf, and we were happy we were able to get the grant, which will help with the cost of the trip.”
They consider the trip one of their biggest accomplishments.
“Not a lot of classes have been able to organize a grade-wide trip during high school; trips are mostly for specific classes or clubs, so it will be a unique opportunity to have the entire grade take part,” Hannah said. “We really wanted something that could bring the entire class together for our final year, and we hope this will be a community-building event.”
The students’ partnership has helped bind POCO and Briarcliff High School together, they said.
“Having the two of us from the two different schools will help, since in the fall we will be presidents for the entire student body, and we will have freshmen from POCO,” Hannah said. “Students will get representation from both schools.”
“I hope the new POCO students will feel welcome,” Sofia said. “It was scary when I first came to Briarcliff, but students and staff try to make us POCO kids feel welcome, and joining clubs and sports also helps. I’m so glad I met Hannah on the track team, and that we’ve been able to form this partnership!”
The two are very excited for what the new school year will bring and will be joined by Emily Isbell and Kevin Pahk as secretary and treasurer, respectively.
