Kelly Pan is a junior in the humanities program and the 2024 class president. She has been leading the Student Government Association (SGA) fundraising campaign. The Pulse wanted to ask her about being the 2024 SGA president. 

How do you balance being SGA president with school?

Among the most important things in balancing SGA with school are time management and organization. I really value being an integral part of student leadership and contributing to improve the student experience at Poolesville, so I truly enjoy much of the work we do in SGA. Combined with my natural interest in SGA, I also set goals in advance and start planning ahead of time – for both SGA events and school work – in order to balance both. Although this can be challenging, I believe that the voices of our students deserve to be heard and valued, therefore I prioritize the need to advocate for them. 

How is the SGA preparing for prom?

I believe our junior class SGA is very fortunate to have had such great mentorship from our Poolesville faculty as well as from the previous SGA officers. To ensure everything falls in place for the special night, we constantly work outside of school to finalize key components such as catering and decorations. We have made great progress thus far, already having secured the venue and transportation, well over four months in advance. With bi-weekly meetings, we are able to discuss our progress and brainstorm further ideas. Early in our planning process, we began a prom committee and encouraged juniors and seniors to join in order to share their ideas and help out with setting up before prom, and on the day of (link to sign up in the bio of our @phs.sga24 Instagram!) We also seek advice from our sponsor Mr. Yu and Principal Carothers so that our event aligns with the school’s vision. Finally, Jordan – our current whole school SGA president – served as junior class president last year, so learning from his experiences has supported my decision-making for this year’s prom.

Why is the SGA fundraising so much this year as opposed to past years?

We are determined to increase the amount of student engagement this year and to plan more exciting events for our students because they deserve the best. 

What ways have you fundraised this year?

So far this year, the Junior Class SGA has had our annual pie in the face fundraiser at Poolesville Day as well as a Winter Candy Gram fundraiser. We promoted both of these events heavily on our @phs.sga24 Instagram in order to boost engagement and recorded great turnout, which we are all super proud of!

How has fundraising gone so far?

We have made significant progress, with our efforts so far being in line with our projected goals. With our pie in the face fundraiser, students expressed a lot of excitement participating in the activity and feeling like a part of the efforts to raise money. Also, our winter candy gram sales were able to spread some holiday cheer in the days leading up to winter break.

Is there anything exciting to look forward to from the SGA?

We are working out a schedule with three special teachers who will be getting a pie to the face! We have also recently met with administration to further discuss the results of the student voice survey from earlier this year and are working on some improvements for the school in the near future. 

How successful has fundraising been so far?

I think our fundraisers have been really successful in engaging our students in fun activities while raising money for our prom!