On Dec. 17 Lisa Ferrigno, the associate student body (ASB) account technician, left San Marin to work as an office manager at Hill Education Center.
Ferrigno’s job was to monitor the student funds for dances, athletic events and clubs. Through these events she established a connection with her students, and many of them came to her for help.
“She was always very helpful in the office and welcomed me with a smile. She helped me with my community service hours,” sophomore Noemi Del Torro said.
The ASB group worked closely with Ferrigno, and she would make sure there was sufficient money for planned events and that fundraising goals were met. Ferrigno also got permits for homecoming parades and venders for prom.
“She did a lot more than just manage the money, she was our go-to person for a lot
of different things,” leadership and physics teacher Neesha Patel said. “She was always
doing things for the students.”
Ferrigno also handled various tasks outside of her job description, including obtaining school supplies and prom dresses for students who were not able to afford them.
“It was not part of her job, but she saw a need early on of kids who didn’t necessarily have dresses to wear to the prom or the money to buy them,” office manager Lisa Walera, who worked with Ferrigno for six years, said.
When Ferrigno first started working at San Marin in 2015 she noticed some students were not able to afford prom. She decided to help students by asking people from the community for prom dress donations.
“I started by asking my friends to sponsor a dress,” Ferrigno said. “The Giving Group, a group of women who were mostly San Marin alumni parents, started giving money for prom dress. Then
we did several things that have morphed into what it is today.”
The Giving Group was a prominent group of donors, and continued to contribute to Ferrigno’s efforts by donating other necessities to students such as clothes, school supplies, and even food.
“For the last six years the Giving Group has given me gift cards to give to kids who get nominated by teachers who might benefit from it,” Ferrigno said. “All of them just want to give back to kids and help their lives be a little easier.”
The Angels in the Outfield are another donor group, who consider themselves anonymous. These two groups, along with parents, have reached out to Ferrigno to provide generous donations to the San Marin community.
“I’m the only one who knows both sides; when somebody gets something from the Angels they don’t know who it comes from,” Ferrigno said. “I’m the eyes and ears of the group, people give it to me, and I give it to the students.”
Lisa Ferrigno will be missed in the San Marin community. Even though she is no longer working at San Marin, she will continue to support and help our community.
“I still miss the community over at San Marin. It was the people, the students, faculty and all the staff,” Ferrigno said. “People were kind and warm; I felt very blessed there.” Ferrigno will continue to supply prom dresses. If anyone is interested in donating dresses or money, she can be emailed at liferrigno@nusd.
