By Crescencia Maurer

Scarborough’s Board of Education includes two student representatives, one each from the junior and senior classes at Scarborough High School (SHS). Although they are non-voting members, the students play an important role communicating student viewpoints to the board.

During the 2025-2026 school year, senior Abigail Rasquinha and junior Sara Claret were the student representatives. Despite long meetings that sometimes lasted until 10 pm, they have both gained from the experience and learned lessons in how local government works. 

Board Chair Shannon Lindstrom worked with Abigail and Sara to develop specific projects they could implement as part of their service. Both students also earned elective credits within SHS’s Career Pathways Program, where students can pursue Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs) for different career paths. Abigail and Sara earned ELO credits in Leadership and Local Government.

Abigail and Sara appreciated the support they received from each other, and Shannon’s mentorship, saying the board chair deserves special recognition for always being there with guidance and encouragement.

Both students have advice for those who seek to serve on the board. Abigail emphasizes the importance of speaking up, even if it’s daunting in a public forum. “There is definitely room to bring in student ideas.” Sara echoed this recommendation. She believes student reps are uniquely positioned to have an impact, but they need to invest time and thought into their ideas to make them a reality.  Sara noted that effective communication is a key skill to being an effective student representative.   

Scarborough is incubating future leaders! Only time will tell whether their impact will be local, state, national, or international.

Abigail Rasquinha ’26

Abigail (pictured above) represented the Class of 2026 on the Scarborough Board of Education during the 2025-2026 school year. Her path to service started with her experience on the SHS Student Council, where she saw the importance of student leadership. Highlights of her service included participating in board workshops and debates on the district’s cell phone policy. She learned policy making can be long and involved. As Abigail noted, “It isn’t one and done.”

Another highlight of Abigail’s service was helping to create the student spotlight awards, which are now featured at most board meetings. These awards recognize a student, nominated by a teacher, for actions and service to the SHS community.

In fall of 2026, Abigail will attend Northeastern University. She will begin her freshman year in Thessaloniki, Greece and return to the Boston campus the following spring. Abigail wants to explore a career in public health, including the science, policy and legal challenges. She is excited about Northeastern’s Co-op Program, where she’ll have a chance to learn on the job.

Sara Claret Gozalvez ’27

Sara has served as the junior class representative this past year. She sought the position because she wanted direct experience in local politics. “As a student, it can seem like your voice doesn’t matter much, but the opportunity to be on the board showed me that Scarborough really cares about students and wants to hear what we have to say.”

Sara served on the board’s policy committee to better understand how policies are revised, developed, and adopted.  Sara also wrote regular updates for the SHS newsletter to raise students’ awareness of board actions and their impact on students. She says the writing assignment was one of the highlights of her service, especially because fellow students read her articles. What she enjoyed most was being a part of board decisions and discussions, which allowed her to observe the interplay between state and local politics firsthand.

Sara will be a senior in the fall. She hopes to study in Europe, to better “understand the systems that shape global affairs and how they affect people’s lives on a day-to-day basis.”

Crescencia Maurer is a member of the Scarborough Board of Education.

Top photo: Abigail Rasquinha ’26. Photos courtesy of Scarborough School Board.