By J1 Reporter Maeve Wharton

Despite chaos, confusion, and last-minute changes, senior Student Board Vice President Darian Jones excelled as this year’s Walk-A-Thon (WAT) chair. 

Each year, the STUBO Vice President steers the school through its entirely student-led fundraiser, WAT. This year, Jones had the privilege of tackling this challenge and ensuring the campaign was a success.

Jones, along with the other Student Board members, began preparations for WAT in July. The first tasks on their list: choosing a theme and mailing out letters to businesses about becoming sponsors. Jones and her team contemplated several ideas before finally landing on Glow WAT. 

A few weeks later, Jones began making follow-up calls to potential donors. Although a rather painful task for some, she said she enjoys communicating with companies and working closely with businesses. “For every five nos, there was one yes, but you have to embrace it,” Jones said. 

Once the school year and WAT season officially began, Jones worked diligently on the small, often overlooked, details. She created a t-shirt design, found a DJ for the glow party, created raffle prizes, and more. However, Jones was not fazed with all the work set out for her, but excited. “It’s such a great opportunity that I was given,” Jones said.

Unfortunately, with four days left in the WAT fundraiser, Student Board came to the dreaded realization that the school was not on track to hit its $105,000 goal. An emergency meeting was called, and, thinking quickly, Jones and the Board suggested returning WAT to its tradition of being directly connected to Field Day. This quick change and support of the administration proved critical in helping the school exceed its goal in donations, raising more than $152,000.

Although there were ups and downs on the journey, “it all worked out in the end,” Jones said.