Lake Forest Academy senior, Ferdoss Ibrahim, has been a leader ever since her junior year as class president, and this year, has stepped into the role of All School President. Ibrahim discussed her plans for this year which include; advancing Sodexo, collaborating with faculty and students, and prioritizing mental health.

   “I would like to start a schoolwide project where we show our gratitude to Sodexo. They do so much for our community and we should take their efforts into consideration.” said Ibrahim. She hopes that, as students, to show our appreciation we can start by cleaning up after ourselves, saying thank you in food lines, and being cautious of following the dining-hall protocol.

   Another one of Ibrahim’s plans for this year is working with student and faculty leaders on improving our community collaboratively.    “I want to work with students and faculty on a collaborative google document this year so everyone feels included and like their voices are heard.”One of Ibrahim’s top goals is to take all opinions into consideration when making major decisions for the school.” The needs of students are important to Ibrahim, therefore, she has been planning to make arrangements for sporadic mental health days. 

“Sometimes, you really need a day off. Students need to be able to take time for themselves without following any certain schedule,” stated Ibrahim. She believes that the way to thrive is to take care of yourself by sleeping, catching up on homework, and enjoying time with your friends on days off. While Ibrahim intends to carry out her plans, COVID has had quite an impact on them. 

   “It’s definitely much harder to plan with all of the restrictions,” said Ibrahim. “I feel like participation levels are low because we can only have a certain amount of people in a room. The capacity rules bring down the energy levels”. Ibrahim hopes that with the vaccination levels rising, we will be able to start planning community events again. Taking on the role of All-School President is not an easy job, it comes with many nerves. 

   “Right before I went on stage to give my speech, my heart was pounding. I’ve gone up on stage many times before but never as all school president” said Ibrahim. “The most awkward part was when Isaac Park was playing the piano – by the way Isaac if you’re reading this that was AMAZING – I just didn’t know how to stand”. When asked how she calmed herself down, Ibrahim stated “I knew it was like anybody else going on stage, I don’t hold myself higher or lower than anybody else”. As Ibrahim expanded on her morals, she wanted to give advice to all incoming students. 

   “Firstly, run for council. Secondly, make school what you want it to be. Have a positive attitude and try to focus on the positive things. Thirdly, go out of your way to interact with someone new. If there’s one thing this school has taught me, it’s that community is so much bigger than what’s around you. And lastly, Go to ‘dinners on us’ with Mr. Wold, I promise you won’t regret it.” concluded Ibrahim. 

   Ibrahim’s goal for our community here at LFA is to “be inclusive and make everyone just a little bit nicer to each other”. She looks forward to incorporating a bit of every student into this year and making it unforgettable. 

Ferdoss Ibrahim poses for her senior pictures