First FHS Geography Night Draws a Crowd

Above, senior Kianna Thomas and math teacher Paul O'Donoghue at Geography Night at Franklin High School cafeteria Tuesday night.

Food is a common thread for humanity and it was an important element in the first ever “Geography Night” at Franklin High School. The event was originally sparked by an idea from Kianna Thomas, a senior, who is president of the Diversity Awareness Club, which sponsored the event.

According to Paul O’Donoghue, a math teacher who advises the club, which has been around for about four years, this is his first year as advisor. “We raised about $700 and estimate that we had about 75 attendees, consisting of family members, teachers, principals, and community members,” he said.

We had 10 different countries represented with presentations from 15 different students. Each country also featured food dishes made by the students. People were able to donate in order to try each of the foods. Kianna explained that thematically, the students typically focused on a country that was part of their own heritage.

“The kids totally took the reins on this project, I had very little involvement,” said O’Donoghue. He credited Kianna, the club officers and students for putting it all together “including organizing roles and positions.”