Annually, the advisors of the current year’s sophomore class host sophomore class elections, during which members of the 10th grade can run for officer positions. In more populated areas, schools often have a student body government, in which students from specified classes can run for the specified positions, to represent the entire student body, rather than individual classes. In Jim Thorpe, however, it has been tradition for the sophomore class to elect their president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and historian, to remain in their positions until graduation.
The job of a president is to lead. As seen in democratic governments and other bodies which elect a person to this position, the president is the foremost leader of a given body or group. This means that a class president is responsible to oversee the state of the officer team, and the class as a collective; present new ideas, or improve upon old ideas; and appropriately assess problems and successes within the
grade. The JT Class of 2026’s presidential candidates were Maura Malaska and Adam Kosciolek. Maura Malaska is a member of the JT volleyball team, head of the Jim Thorpe Area High School History Club Fundraising Committee, and reporter for the Jim Thorpe Future Business Leader of America (FBLA) chapter. Adam Kosciolek plays for the football team and is a true American patriot. He incorporated his patriotism in his running platform through politically-themed satire and addressing the sophomore class as “fellow Americans” in his speech. Ultimately, Maura Malaska won the election and is now President of Jim Thorpe’s Class of 2026. She plans to organize enough fundraising events to make her class’s senior year, specifically Senior Prom, as enjoyable as possible.
As implied by the term “vice”, the job of the vice president is to assist the president in his/her responsibilities. For the Jim Thorpe Sophomore Class of 2023, the candidates for this crucial position were Gavin Strohl and Lila DeJessa. Lila is a member of the girl’s tennis team and active participant in other extracurricular activities, such as marching band and theater. Being true to her ‘Swiftie-self’, Lila utilized friendship bracelet crafting as a huge component of her campaign. Gavin is a member of the football team and last year went to the state-level competition for his event in FBLA. Gavin was also consistently featured in the comedic postings of the “Kosciolek Cabinet” campaign. The two candidates both made an impression on the majority of the class with their well thought out speeches and extensive qualifications. It was Lila DeJessa who proved triumphant in being elected the Jim Thorpe Class of 2026 Vice President.
The job of a secretary is to organize and manage events and plans for his or her ruling body. Assets of a good secretary include organizational, managerial, and planning skills. This role, critical to the successful function of a class’s officer team, was one that had great appeal to candidates Olivia Bierman, Keira Reese, and Jadon Reese. Olivia is a member of Jim Thorpe’s Volleyball Team, History Club, and Mock Trial team. Keira is a member of the Jim Thorpe Girls’s Tennis Team, Track & Field, and The Flame. (The Flame is the school’s literary and arts magazine, which provides monthly contests with prizes. Any student is an eligible participant, so if this interests you, visit The Flame’s site, which has QR codes posted on bulletins throughout the school.) Jadon is an avid hunter and member of Kosciolek’s campaign. After three speeches displaying the attributes of all the secretarial candidates, the votes cast Keira Reese to be the Secretary of the JTAHS Class of 2026. Keira ran due to her desire to get involved with the inner workings of her class and prove to herself and the children who she previously tutored that awingly looked up to her, that she can thrive in a position like this. She believed due to her organizational skills that secretary was the position meant for her.
Nearly every event needs money to happen. Especially with events involving large amounts of money and masses of people, a person to appropriately manage all of these funds is necessary. This person is a treasurer, which for this school’s Class of 2026 could have been Abigail Kuhn, Gretchen Cox, or Jack Decker. Abigail (Abbey) is a member of the volleyball team, Treasurer of the JT History Club, and a successful academic. Gretchen is, too, an avid student and member of the History Club and the Mock Trial team. Jack Decker is a player for the Boys’s Soccer Team and known amongst peers for his intelligence. After three fantastic speeches and campaign strategies, the one that proved successful was Jack Decker. As his class’s treasurer, Jack intends to prioritize his responsibilities with the class funds and contribute his thoughts on how to properly allocate funds for all the officers will have planned.
Lastly, but not least, the role of a class’s historian is management of social media and documentation of upcoming events. A historian is important to make known the plans of the class and capture memories to showcase to the community. For this important role, were candidates Luke Bosi, member of the golf team, Scholastic Scrimmage, History Club, and Mock Trial, and Jim Thorpe’s football team’s QB #1, Cole Lazorick. The two opposing candidates displayed a team mentality that should be used to inspire all people in all of their team pursuits, having promoted one another greatly. However, only one sophomore could take the position, and that was Cole Lazorick. As previously mentioned, a team player all-around, Cole plans to do his job to the best of his ability, alongside the other members of the Class of 2026’s officer team.
In conclusion, the Jim Thorpe Class of 2026’s newly elected officer team consists of the excited, ambitious, and qualified Maura Malaska, Lila DeJessa, Keira Reese, Jack Decker, and Cole Lazorick. Should you see any of the officers, make sure to congratulate them!
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