By Jamari Saint Cyr
Have you ever wondered who is behind school pride inspired pep rallies or the homecoming dance? These are only a couple of the many events that the Apopka High Student Government Association, or SGA, orchestrates throughout the school year.
SGA Seniors
SGA is steered by Mr. Peters, who has been a sponsor and teacher of SGA since 2005 and currently runs the club alongside Mr. Mellon. When asked about what he loves most about assisting SGA, he answered that it’s prominently the students in the club that make him enjoy doing what he does for SGA. “My job is to make sure the SGA train is all fueled, runs on time, and doesn’t derail,” Mr. Peters stated. “It’s their SGA and will be as active or successful as they have a mind to make it. Each SGA has its own unique chemistry. It’s great working with Mr. Mellon. Life is a journey, bring along friends.”
We were able to speak in-depth with Gracie Darlington who is a senior here at Apopka High School and serves as SGA president.
“I had an older sister in SGA and I had known about SGA because it’s kind of iconic within the school, like it ran school spirit and it seemed really fun to be a part of,” Gracie said, recalling the moment she realized she wanted to become a part of SGA. “I originally ran for senator in sophomore year and that’s when I started in SGA, and my sister was president over me that year [laughs].”
For Gracie, part of what she loves most about spearheading the club and being a part of it is the people involved. “I’ve been a part of it for three years, so in general I really like the atmosphere and I love the people involved,” said Gracie. “The sponsors (Mr. Peters and Mr. Mellon) are awesome. They’re really die-hard Blue Darters, so they are really just about school spirit and getting everybody involved in the school, and SGA kind of gets people from a lot of different walks of life, a lot of interests, a lot of sports somewhere to kind of have common ground and be unified. And I love being president in it just because of the people in it. I love just getting to lead a really really cool group of kids that are all really invested and engaged; they love the school they love the people around them and just like they love Apopka, so I love it because of the people. “
Gracie Darlington
Both the president and the sponsors of SGA, as with any club, work really hand in hand with each other to help lead to an overall vision. “The dynamic between me and [Mr. Peters] as a president and sponsor is [complex]. We do work very well together,” Gracie commented. “Our personalities kind of bounce off each other well, and I think that one thing that works well is that I know I can kind of anticipate what he wants for an event, like his standard, and I know what he kind of needs to be done sometimes without him having to tell me, so we both communicate very well. I understand what needs to get done, I get it done, and he is always good about letting me know what is expected.”
The ball never stops rolling for SGA. The club has a busy schedule from the moment school starts in fall to the end of school in spring, with many activities packed for the year. “Our year [at a glance] usually looks like at the beginning of the year. The fall usually kind of takes up Homecoming, so usually our first event is the talent show and then soon after that is Spirit Week, which has the Powder Puff Game, which is what we run, and then all the spirit days and all the decorations and then ending with the [city] parade, the pep rally, and then that night the Homecoming game and the court and everything. Then the homecoming dance is a big thing for us. That’s kind of the big event that kind of decides the way SGA goes. And then after Homecoming, which is our big thing, we usually move into the winter time [where] we do a lot of things for Christmas. A big thing we do is called a Dewy’s Holiday Wish, which is where we collect toys and buy toys with some of our funds that we’ve raised to give to kids down at Phyllis Wheatley Elementary that might not have a chance to get Christmas presents otherwise. We helped out with the faculty Christmas party and helped decorate for that. We give teachers around here that help us out with Homecoming and in general, we give them a Christmas present and we do some other charity work in the winter. And moving onto spring, in February we do Pennies for Patients, which is a fundraiser within teachers’ classrooms to raise money for the leukemia lymphoma society, and then in March we do MDA Clovers, which is just like our students selling a dollar per clover investment in a fund to raise money for research for muscular dystrophy. And this year we are doing a dodgeball tournament March 13th and also we’re partnering with Roh Kappa for Family Feud, which will be teachers competing and stuff and all those funds will go towards Relay for Life, and then we kind of finish out March with Relay for Life and then after Relay for Life we go into a transitional time between this group of Seniors in this office, meaning like myself and the seniors that are holding office positions into next year. We help out with freshmen orientation, [where] we give a presentation of the history of Apopka, and then we do Senior Awards and then we run next year’s elections and then after that the Senior Class kind of moves out and lets the other ones step in to start for next year.”
When asked what she thinks makes SGA stand out from other clubs at Apopka, she had one specific answer and that was Mr. Peters. Having done SGA for what would now be fourteen years, he’s seemed to never lose interest and enthusiasm about the club and doesn’t seem like he would anytime soon!
“I think it all kind of comes down from him,” Gracie praised. “That what he expects from us and what he expects from himself, he gives 110% at all times and even though he’s had some health things going on back and forth this year, there’s never been a time when he hasn’t been 100% in SGA. He always handles his business and he works really hard to make everything that we do excellent. Not that the other sponsors aren’t dedicated, but I think Mr. Peters just has a work ethic that trickles down. So I think SGA stands out and is a standard for excellence, and I think that comes from Mr. Peters and just a genuine love for his school.”
SGA Seniors
For someone who is maybe considering whether or not to join SGA, Gracie would highly recommend the club to you even if you’re not sure one hundred percent on what it’s about. “I would tell [people looking into SGA] to do it! That even if they don’t really understand everything that SGA does or what will be expected of them, I think it’s a great way to be involved in the school, you know? Because some people don’t play sports, some people can’t sing, some people can’t act, some people aren’t good at academics, and some people just don’t really have a place to really feel like they’re involved because our school is good at a lot of things, but not everybody fits into that box. So I think that SGA is a really good opportunity and just a really good place to be involved in the school in general. It’s just for everybody. We’re kind of unified in school spirit and loving Apopka and, as corny as that sounds, that’s only the kind of prerequisite you have. I think you need to be a good leader and there is a standard of just having character and integrity and representing the school well. We just ask and we work towards having everybody that’s in the club being the best of Apopka and best out of the students. But I would just say to do it, it’s a great way to be involved and where you feel like you’re part of something bigger than yourself, whether that’s the Homecoming parade or other events in the school. I love in the spring when we get to give back to charities and stuff and serve teachers at the luncheon, and it gives you something to do and gives you a place to just kind of serve your school back.”
If you’re someone who would enjoy being a part of many events that range from setting up Homecoming and school pep rallies or would love to have a voice in the school in general, SGA would be a club that would suit your interests.