Biology teacher Sarah Oberlander has assumed the position of the school’s Coordinator of Student Activities (COSA),  effective this year. The COSA’s duty is to plan and organize activities, programs, and events, such as Junior Banquet, the Pep rally, and the Club Fair.

As an alumna of Townsend Harris, Ms. Oberlander strongly feels she has an advantage in fulfilling the COSA’s responsibilities. She says that this experience has “brought back memories of what I wanted my student government to be like and what I wanted my clubs to be like, and how much support we needed from the faculty.” In addition, Ms. Oberlander distinctly remembers how Social Studies teacher Adam Stonehill worked as the COSA before  math teacher Aleeza Widman took his place, and she believes this knowledge will help her fulfill her goals.

Since Ms. Widman went on maternity leave in the Spring,  Ms. Oberlander had been in charge of organizing school events and activities such as the Blood Drive and Junior Banquet. Thus, she hopes that her work during Ms.Widman’s absence gave her the experience needed to continue her work as COSA this year.

Ms. Widman shared her thoughts on why Ms. Oberlander is qualified to fulfill her position.

She mentioned that although Ms. Oberlander hasn’t been teaching at THHS for a while, she still “always stepped up” to help with student activities.

“I hope she continues some of the things I did but makes it her own and puts her own spin on it,” she said.

Senior and Club Liaison Hannah Jang, who works constantly with the COSA, stated that Ms. Oberlander already knows a great detail about her responsibilities because she “started by coming to meetings last year to get a feel for the position and was always on board on listening to ideas.”

Despite her other responsibilities, Ms. Oberlander said that becoming COSA adds more time to the day. Thus, by staying in school longer, she can guarantee that students enjoy school events.

“The SU board, myself included, was really disappointed that Ms. Widman left,” Hannah commented. “But Ms. O is fulfilling all our expectations and we know there is more in store.”