GHS Student Intern

School |
October 31, 2019

The Gorham School Committee (SC) recently selected Gorham High School (GHS) junior Zakaria (Zak) Lembarra to join Ava Pitman, a senior at GHS, as its newest student representative.

The role of the student representative is to bring GHS’ student perspective into the policies that the Committee is charged with creating, and to share their thoughts on issues that impact the students at the school. This adds balance as it takes into account all aspects of new policy implications.

The SC feels that the residents of Gorham should know what is going on in the school system, and the Committee wants to hear what is important to the community.

Darryl Wright has been the SC chair for the past four years and is one of the longest tenured SC members. “This is a great way to introduce students to how local government works at the District level,” he said.

Photo credit Natalie Sturza

Lembarra is very involved and dedicated to the community. He volunteers for the Maine Youth Court Program, an organization based on bringing restorative justice and preventing a criminal record for peers who break rules or laws. He is also involved with the newly formed GHS Eco Club which is inspired by the desire around the world to take action for climate change.

Lembarra is a part of the GHS Steel Band as the six-bass drummer, a member of the student council, a member of an Odyssey of the Mind team that qualified for Worlds three years in a row, and can also be spotted on the field with the GHS varsity football team as an offensive and defensive lineman.

He is interested in making a difference for himself and his peers in school. “Even before I knew a seat was open, my friends and I talked about a range of issues from grades, to renovations, to scheduling and more,” said Lembarra. “So, when an opportunity to represent myself and my peers came up, I was quick to step up.”

Now that he is on the Committee, he is excited to observe the inner workings of the school system, and hopes to bring attention to different perspectives that are important to him and his peers.