BY CHARLIE BLODNIEKS
This past weekend, the Student Government Association (SGA) achieved gold level distinction for their efforts for the first time in ten years.
The SGA received recognition for both their medallion book and school spirit project. Taking home two major awards, the SGA left the Florida Association of Student Councils conference in Pensacola with a renewed sense of pride.
President Carolina Chiari elaborated that the medallion book is a compilation of all the projects the SGA has done this school year, and they received the highest honor possible for their work.
“Knowing that I was able to lead our student government toward this great success was an amazing feeling,” Chiari said. “With hard work from everyone in the association, we reached our goal of winning gold after a long wait.”
Historian Heather Carpenter and Vice President Logan Piper won third place in school spirit for their homecoming pre-party project. Taking place back in October, the pre-party allowed various clubs to fundraise on-site with games and food before the homecoming football game.
“School spirit is one of the most difficult categories considering it’s one of the most popular,” Carpenter said.
This feat, similar to the medallion book distinction, hasn’t been accomplished by the Cooper City SGA in many years.
“I didn’t expect to place as it’s so tough with our school being less experienced and because the school spirit category is one of the biggest,” Piper said. “When our school was called, we just all went crazy, and so did the other schools sitting around us. I was so excited that I tripped and hurt my foot walking down the stairs.”
At the convention, SGA members were able to work on their leadership skills. With various workshops available, students could learn fundraiser ideas, leadership tips and general guidelines on running an effective SGA.
“The keynote sessions were probably my favorite because we could all be together in the auditorium,” Carpenter said. “The live music and dancing were especially a highlight also.”
After a weekend of team building and leadership, the SGA are happy to return to CCHS with newly instilled ideas for future projects.
“The best part about these conferences is that you are able to network with other schools across the state and gain ideas to bring back to Cooper,” Piper said. “This year I’ve learned some new good ideas and I hope to pass them down so that they can be successfully executed next year.”
