Members run around both campuses, holding posters, grabbing paint or speaking to teachers in order to plan events. They are collecting donations, hanging posters and talking to students about the new events that are going on. This is a normal day for the Student Council.
Student Council is a student-run organization that operates in over 1,400 schools in Texas. However, Carroll’s Senior High and High School Student Council operates a little differently from most, by being not a club, but a class.
“[Student Council] has given me the opportunity to meet so many kind and dedicated people in our community, and it’s also where I’ve made some of my closest friends,” Student Council President and senior Brooke Brown said.
StuCo members are chosen through an application process and teacher recommendations. Members can also run for elected officer positions in their second and third years.
“I ran for Student Council President because I wanted to make a tangible difference in our school and community,” Brown said. “I’m passionate about building connections and helping others, and I felt that serving in this position would give me the opportunity to do both.”
Student Council runs many events throughout the year, going from small acts of appreciation to our teachers to big fundraisers. One of their biggest events of the year attended by thousands of people at Town Square is the Homecoming parade, carnival and dance, as ticket sales fund most future projects.
“Student Council is in charge of planning, setting up and taking down the entire event,” Brown said. “After the parade, StuCo stayed to clean up and ensure that Town Square was spotless. I was there for most of the day, from early setup at 8:30 in the morning until cleanup in the evening after the parade.”
Homecoming is not StuCo’s only big event, as throughout the year, they run three blood drives that benefit Carter Blood Care.
“Planning for [the blood drive] began before school started,” Secretary and senior Kate Hamilton, who managed the drive, said. “The event itself, including set-up and clean-up, lasted for eight hours.”
This year, 118 units of blood were collected from the StuCo’s first of three Blood Drives, saving up to 354 lives: one unit of blood, coming from about one donor, can save up to three lives. The group is hoping the next two blood drives can save even more lives.
“I appreciated seeing my peers overcome their fears for the cause,” Hamilton said. “A simple donation didn’t last longer than 30 minutes, but had the impact of a lifetime. I hope that this experience will encourage people to become lifelong blood donors.”
On Oct. 3, Student Council finished up their four-week-long Wipe Out Kids Cancer fundraiser, which was managed by Social Officer and senior Tatum Stewart.
“Wipe Out Kids Cancer is an organization that helps families with children suffering from cancer by providing Buddy Bags and funds for cancer resources,” Emily Fielder, junior said.“Their goal of helping others inspired me to want to be there for them.”
They raised more than $5,000 for Wipe Out Kids Cancer through online platforms, food trucks, shirt drives and Buddy Bags, which is a collection of art or hygiene items that are donations from students, to kids suffering from childhood cancer to offer support. StuCo’s dedication to helping Wipe Out Kids Cancer led to them receiving the Luke Laufenberg Award.
“It was amazing to see the dedication of our community to helping others,” Fielder said. “Everyone steps in to help, from the administrators to our local food trucks to our student body.”
But Student Council is not done yet; this November, they will be hosting their second Feed it Forward 5K benefiting Wounded Warriors and North Tarrant Area Food Bank. The event involves canned foods for a Thanksgiving basket and a community race fundraiser. The event is being organized by Vice President and senior John Mark Fraga.
“I created this event as a way to incorporate my passion for serving others along with my strong sense of patriotism,” Fraga said. “I believe it is extremely important to give back to our veterans who sacrificed everything they have so that we can enjoy safety and freedom in our everyday lives.”
The Feed it Forward 5K comprised both a race and a canned food drive. Student and community members will run the race in support of funding Wounded Warrior first, and later receive their shirt and medal. Donations will be organized with help from local first responders and will be given to North Tarrant Area Food Bank for Thanksgiving.
“This event would not have been possible without the CSHS Student Council,” Fraga said. “My fellow [Student Council] members have worked so hard to be able to put this event together; without them, the 5K would have been nothing. Along with the council members, our [Student Council] advisors, Lindsey Jacobson and Natalie Brown, along with parents, gave me incredible insight and help. I would not have been able to do anything without them.”
StuCo represents the power of teamwork and dedication. Showing up to every event with a smile and a helping hand.
“I love getting to help plan and build an event that brings our entire community together,” Brown said. “Seeing everyone come out to celebrate makes all the hard work worth it.”
