Student Spotlight: The Voice of LT Students on the Board

As the 2011-2012 school year draws closer, students are busy procrastinating on summer reading and setting goals for the year. For incoming senior Alivia Sabatino, these goals go beyond getting good grades and recieving a drivers liscence; her to do list consists of giving students a voice when it comes to decisions that affect them. Through becoming teen advisor to the Board of Education, her goals come with the territory.

Patch: In general, what are the goals of the board overall?

Sabatino: "The Board of Education is a group of people that discusses budget and the technicals of our school and also have to do with a lot of school rules. Also any changes in our schedule, policies, and a lot of important decisions are made through the Board. Whenever something is going on within the school, the Board wants to hear about it and make changes for the future."

How did you acquire the job?

"I heard the announcement sophomore year, and I knew that you could only apply as a junior so I thought about it and knew that as a junior I'd have a better handle on if I'd be able to do it or not. So junior year rolled around and I heard the announcement again... and I was comfortable academically where I was. It sounded like a great position to get involved even further with the school, and to give a voice to the students, it seemed so interesting- something I really wanted to give a shot."

What was the application process like?

"I had to hand in my transcripts for junior year, and complete and essay and interview. I also had to get a 50-signature petition and hand in my list of extra-curriculars. The process was longer than I expected, but it was so worth it and I can't wait to work with the board and the student body."

Now that you've got the job, what specifically will you do?

"I will be with the Board members attending all of the meetings as a non-voting member. I'm excluded from closed cases. So I will be attending those meetings and at each one I will have to present a speech. Before each meeting I will be meeting with the Board members just to go over and finalize everything and make sure I have all the information."

Will this job take you outside of the board room?

"Yes. I will be attending student council meetings just to get an idea of what's going on with the student body- that is where I'll be getting my information to talk about at the Board meetings. There are also different organizations and clubs that I'm going to stop into and see what they're up to. I plan on attending sports games and theatre productions, anything that will help me relay information onto the Board."

Does this position correlate with aspirations for something similar in the future?

"The idea of being a representative to the Board means I have to be in contact with a lot of people and give them a voice. Definitely in the future I want to work with others and be involved in their lives and hear what they have to say. Maybe it won't be quite like this, but I love working with people and interacting with them."

Seems like you're pretty dedicated. How do you plan on juggling your commitments senior year?

"Junior year was difficult, and I was involved in a lot. I pushed myself to the extent that I realized that I'm capable of so much more than I realized. So I decided for senior year, I'm going to get involved with things I've always wanted to be involved in and go for every opportunity. It's going to be a lot, but I'm going to take it day by day and keep academics my first priority."

You said that your goal is 'To make sure that the students are not feeling left out on decisions that are affecting them.' How do you plan on fufilling this?

"I don't have any specific plans, but once the schoolyear starts I want to be there for students if they need something or have ideas. Being the liaison, I'm going to have an open ear to anyone who wants to be heard."