Without any seniors, underclassmen keep Sobrato student
government running
Morgan Hill – Just because Sobrato High School has no seniors doesn’t mean there is no leadership.
In fact, the school has an active group of student leaders that would make any high school adviser envious, according to Associated Student Body Director Marla Carroll. Throughout all three grades at Sobrato, Carroll says there are plenty of students involved in the student government, especially in this year’s freshman class.
“This is such a great bunch of kids,” Carroll said. “They’re really involved, creative, enthusiastic.”
ASB students typically plan and organize school events, such as dances and rallies, and coordinate fundraisers.
Last week for example, ASB students delivered roses to students for Valentine’s Day to raise money for upcoming projects and events.
But ASB is much more than homecoming rallies and proms, Carroll said, it’s about learning to lead others, with students campaigning for elected class offices and polishing their public speaking skills.
Participating in the Associated Student Body class isn’t a cakewalk either. The class is held during what is called “zero period,” meaning students must find their desks at 7:15 in the morning, long before the first bell rings.
“With having all the hard classes, and sports, too, sometimes it is a long day, especially when there’s a lot of homework,” Freshman Michelle Bradley said. “But starting the day with an inspirational one, like leadership, makes it easier.”
Bradley said being involved in ASB – in middle school at Martin Murphy, as well as at Sobrato – has made a difference in her first year of high school.
“I guess you could say I’ve been more motivated towards school spirit,” she said. “Some of the kids who aren’t involved, sometimes they laugh at it, but it’s something that I think is important. It changes my mood towards school. I think it’s important to help other students, to help other people, and it’s fun to be a part of the school this way.”
The pursuit of leadership skills doesn’t just happen in the classroom either. Four Sobrato freshmen – Bradley, Jonathan Baio, John Knofler and Amber Masoni – recently attended a statewide leadership conference in Sacramento to learn more about becoming a strong leader.
“I wasn’t sure, before we went, what it was going to be like,” Bradley said. “I thought it would be mostly serious, meetings after meetings, kind of boring. It was so much fun. We were laughing so much, there were so many activities. We learned so much, I think, but had fun doing it.”
The four-day conference was designed for eighth and ninth grade students, focusing on developing their leadership skills.
“ASB isn’t just about organizing the dances and stuff, though that’s the fun part,” Bradley said. “It’s about learning other skills that can help us in college and after. When we went to the conference, the things that we did there are things that are good towards our future.”
Carroll encouraged the students to attend the conference and is hoping they can also join the national conference in Washington, D.C. this summer. And though Carroll credits her students’ hard work as reason for their accomplishments, they are just as quick to return the compliment to her.
“She’s great, she thinks it’s really important to have goals, high goals,” Bradley said. “Like for the Mardi Gras dance, she said we should plan to make it the biggest dance ever, like with 800 people, when we knew we would probably get 500. She has high expectations for us, makes us set goals.”
