by:  Grace Sung and Sidney Berg

Class of 2017, how well do you really know your president? Did you know that he volunteered in the governor’s office in Springfield last summer? Or about his food drive and spring greening drive that he runs throughout all of the schools in Westborough? He’s the president of two different clubs and the treasurer of the Rangers for a Cure club. Connor Schoen is a running fanatic, and participates in three seasons of varsity track for the high school – cross country, indoor, and outdoor. Not to mention that he’s the captain as a junior.  You get the point.

You may even find yourself asking how on earth he can handle everything – from school and sports to extracurriculars – along with having a social life. In his three years of presidency, he’s come to greatly enjoy “the ‘president catcalls’ in the hallways,” but also adds that being a political figure can be quite stressful and demanding.

Schoen lives with his two parents, Sammy the dog, and his two older brothers, Mark (20), and Matt (25). Schoen has lived in Westborough for his whole live. His hobbies include running, working out (core specifically), hanging out with friends, and listening to music. “My music taste is pretty basic,” he tells us, laughing, “I’m more into lighter rap, like Fetty Wap, and Spanish and French music.”His love for Spanish music can be put to use in the Spanish club, which is one of two clubs Schoen presides over, the other being Best Buddies.

Schoen is a strong leader in his community and is part of a state-wide leadership organization called  Project 351. Aside from leading clubs, Schoen spent most of his summer working in the Governor Baker’s office, running his own landscaping business, and volunteering for the Appalachia Service Project.

As for in-school President responsibilities, it’s never too early to start thinking about our junior prom and senior ball. The fact that the class had enough money to put the down payment on our prom way back in September of  freshman year shows that he is right on track to making these two exciting events a success. Having gone to prom last year and having a lot of experience with setting up previous dances like the semi-formal, Schoen has come to realize that lighting and music are two key factors that will leave people very satisfied with the overall outcome.

Considering that Schoen already booked reservations for our prom at the beautiful Lake Pearl, decorations are certainly not his main focus. The food, on the other hand, is something that most people consider one of the highlights. “If people like the food, they don’t say anything. But if they don’t, I’m the one who had to deal with the issue.” He also mentiones that one of his main focuses for prom is the ticket prices. Schoen plans on using some money from fundraisers specifically for ticket reduction because that’s a very important aspects for not only students, but parents as well. “We went hard in the beginning, and that’s definitely paying us back now.”

It’s no question that being class president can be tough, but it is clear that Schoen feels very rewarded when his hard work pays off. One of his biggest struggles is that as class president, he has to take the blame for many of things that go wrong – whether it be an issue within the school community, or an unsuccessful aspect of a school dance. “It’s frustrating because many of these things are not my fault.”

Coming from the class president, it was important to hear some of the ways that he copes with his busy, overflowing schedule. He always sets aside a specific amount of time to study for an exam, because most of his stress comes from things that he’s evaluated on, like tests and quizzes. If Schoen gives himself two hours to study for a math test, for example, he doesn’t feel like he could’ve done more.

Another important thing that Schoen mentioned is to always hang out with friends on the weekends. “Junior year is a time where people seem to dedicate their weekends to studying and doing homework. Even if I don’t have time to hang out with friends on the weekends, I make time. It keeps you human.” Schoen explains that all of the work that he does involves things that he likes. He hopes that in the long run, it will benefit him and his community as a whole.