Managing a student organization of over 150 students can be challenging. But as Mr. Criscouli said, “It’s stressful and it’s a lot of work, but the payoff was always well worth it.”
Mr. Criscoli is an English teacher here at Atholton and until recently advised and oversaw the SGA with Mr. Stuppy.
SGA, or Student Government Association, brings student leadership, advocates for student voices, and advocates for one another. It’s a way for students to be able to plan and bring ideas to the table for their own class.
After 13 years of sponsoring SGA, Mr. Stuppy and his current SGA advising partner Mr. Criscuoli have stepped down from their roles. Their joint decision to leave was difficult due to the love they had working with the student government. However, differences in the vision and application of SGA between the Executive Boards and the administration led to some difficulties.
“Mr. Criscuoli and I were the Junior class advisors, in addition to being the executive board advisor, so we stepped down from all of our roles,” said Mr. Stuppy. “It was a personal decision based on things that we had going on in our lives.”
Despite leaving they have nothing but positive things to say about their experiences and the Atholton community.
“We are a school spirit community, and we’re a school improvement organization. So one of the big things we always push for with our student body is to seek out things that you think we could do better, seek out new ideas. Seek out new traditions,” Mr. Stuppy said.
The SGA has a huge impact on Atholton because of the students that come together to take on new roles, plan and execute new activities for our school, and seek new ideas to make school exciting. Mr. Criscuoli and Mr. Stuppy were the sponsors for the 2024-25 Junior class as well as the Executive advisors for all of SGA.
Mr. Stuppy first got involved with SGA in 2003 when he was a student here at Atholton. He started to attend the meetings, getting involved as a student, and was given the opportunity to run for an officer position.
“I found that I was really learning a lot about things like collaboration, communication and leadership. I think if it weren’t for that, I don’t think I’d be the school spirit guy that I am today,” he said.
He was later interested in getting involved as a teacher in the SGA to sponsor the students.
“I wanted to get involved and become a class sponsor, and Ms. Eickert, who was the SGA advisor at the time, said,’ well if you’re interested, you know I’m looking to do something else. Would you like to be the Executive Board advisor?’ So that’s how I came to be the Executive Board advisor,” he said.The Executive board advisor serves as the center of the four different class boards. Mr. Stuppy was very interested in the job because he really looked forward to sharing the fun and excitement with the student body, and helping them make their ideas their own.
“I took it on and I was really interested because I love Homecoming. I love hall decorations. I love the dance. I love the events, and that was one of the best parts of my high school career,” he stated.
Both Mr. Stuppy and Mr. Criscuoli love being involved and love helping student leaders grow and learn how to use their voices.
Mr. Criscouli attended Mt. Hebron for high school, yet wasn’t involved in the student government until he started here at Atholton. He wanted to be involved, and not just for the students but also to improve the school. Mr. Criscuoli would rather do other things than just teach the students because he believes that he wouldn’t get that same connection to build rapport with the students.
“I want to help out around the school. And it was right at a time where Mr. Stuppy was looking for a partner. And I said, ‘I want to be involved’,” he said.
Unfortunately Mr. Stuppy and Mr. Criscuoli faced challenges in working with the administration and did not see eye to eye.
“We just figured, you know what, this is the time to do it, but we did wanna make sure that we stayed on through the pep rally, and through Homecoming, which we thought was really, really important, because we made this decision before then.”
Due to this decision to stay on through the Homecoming week, everything from spirit week to the parade to the dance was a success.
Although no faculty members have stepped up to fill that void, the administration has taken up those positions. Mr. Seneisi and Ms. Kelly will be taking on the sponsorship of the Junior class, and Ms. Bullock and Mr. Dupski will be stepping in to advise the Executive board.
Atholton appreciates the effort and hard work Mr. Stuppy and Mr. Criscuoli have brought to our SGA here at Atholton. Through the precedent they’ve set, the SGA here at Atholton has a bright future.