As soon as school started, many students found themselves eagerly awaiting one of the most exciting weeks of the school year: Homecoming. The activity-filled week went as smoothly as it did thanks to Pine Crest senior, Katie Sullivan. 

Although this was Katie’s first year as president of the entire student body, she has been a part of student council throughout her entire 11 years at Pine Crest and has truly enjoyed being a leader at Pine Crest. 

“What I love most about being Student Council President is getting to know everyone in high school! I don’t think I would have met and become friends with so many amazing underclassmen if it weren’t for student council,” says Katie. 

Katie, who was given the “Fan of the Year” award last year, has always been one of the most spirited students in the high school. She says, 

“I want kids to go to athletic and arts events to cheer on their friends and be amazed by all of their talents. I know all PC students are super busy, but I think that although school work is super important, it is just as important to take a break and enjoy everything else Pine Crest has to offer.” 

This homecoming she wanted to make sure everyone embodied that same spirit. She was especially looking forward to seeing everyone show their panther pride at Friday’s pep rally. 

“I love when everyone is cheering together for their grade. The games and cheerleading dances at the pep rally really get everyone hyped up for the game. I love how much school spirit we have in that moment,” explains Katie. 

Katie started her planning for Homecoming week as soon as last year’s homecoming ended. Last year’s Student Council members analyzed the whole week and discussed what went well and what needed to change. Katie continued working on homecoming plans and led the Student Council Leadership Seminar prior to the start of this school year where she brainstormed ideas for homecoming with the other members. 

Katie has already gone above and beyond as a student council president with starting many new traditions this year, including the student council tailgate which takes place on the Auxiliary field prior to home football games. She even found time to put together a fun video of several groups of students around the high school singing and dancing to get everyone even more excited about the homecoming festivities.

“I know that there are only so many spots for kids to sign up for events that happen during homecoming, so I wanted to try and make something that could show more of the student body! I think the lip dub video was a pretty good way of doing so,” says Katie. 

However, this year’s homecoming week is just the start of a fun year Katie has planned for the student body. One of her goals as president is to create a close knit high school community where people are comfortable talking to someone regardless of grade. One way Katie wants to achieve this is through a new pen pal program. 

“One junior is paired with a freshmen and they write little notes to each other during advisory to get to know each other! So far we have only done this during panther camp, but now that homecoming is out of the way, I plan on focusing more attention on that,” explains Katie. 

Everybody should expect to see many new ideas introduced this year as Katie wants to leave her mark on Pine Crest before graduation in the spring. Although she doesn’t want to give away too many surprises, Katie plans on putting more emphasis on Feb Fest with events happening throughout the week and possibly a spirit stick 2.0?!? Anyways, big thank you to Katie for all her hard work, especially during this homecoming, and we are looking forward to a fantastic rest of the year!