Class of ’11 makes long-lasting impact with class gift

Although they graduated last year and moved on with their adult lives, last year’s senior class presented CVHS with around $10,000 worth of renovations for the student union as its class gift. Planned out by the current senior class officers, and with the help of CVHS graduates, this year’s class gift may surprise students and make the student union the place to be during the school year.

“We chose to renovate the student union because it became a popular place where students hang out,” said former Senior Class President Jasmine Fong.  “We want students to come here and relax, kick it and enjoy themselves with new materials that we hope can last for future classes that enter the school.”

After four years of fundraising with dances and homecomings, the class of 2011 had quite a struggle deciding on what to spend all its “left over” money on. At first, the class officers wanted to help the Donors Choose program, which allows teachers to receive funds that they can use in order to purchase classroom materials, but that option was quickly shut down due to school district legal policies .

The class officers then turned to asking teachers and staff for opinions on where the money could be spent. It wasn’t until a teacher suggested looking into revamping the student union that a plan began to form. Susan Ermitano, who runs the student union, suggested they totally remodel the place with new furniture and whatever else they could afford to buy.

“Thinking it was a great idea, the class officers decided to ‘pimp out’ the annex,” said Leadership teacher Nicholas Whitaker.

Jasmine Fong proceeded to hire CVHS alumni and current San Jose State University student Megan Panighetti to help remodel the annex. Panighetti, who is majoring in interior design at SJSU, was given a list of items Ermitano had suggested for the annex. Among the items bought were leather sofas, new tables, two plasma TVs, two Xboxes, a storage locker for board games, rugs and a new desk for Ermitano to use.

According to Whitaker, although most items like the leather sofas have arrived, Leadership is still waiting on a few others to get to the school.

“We definitely plan to have everything installed and ready for use by the end of October,” said Whitaker.

The student union is known by students as “the ping pong room,” but these new installments to the annex are sure to attract a larger crowd of people and create a space where students can relax and have a good time with their friends during lunch or before school.

This isn’t the first time senior classes have given back to the school; in 2009 the departing seniors hired an artist to paint the large Trojan mural on the top of the gym. A previous class was also responsible for installing the PA system that the school uses for announcements.

With such an amazing present, the class of 2011 surely set the standard very high for all future class gifts, and CVHS can only benefit from this.

“We wanted to make our gift something that would last so many future classes can enjoy it.  We hope that future students of CVHS remember our legacy whenever they hang out in the student union,” said Fong.