There is no mayor for the Town of Wilbraham.
In early February, however, for a few hours, Wilbraham Assistant Town Engineer Tonya Basch served in that role, albeit fictitiously.
Serving as the mayor for Boomtown, USA, Ms. Basch heard group project presentations by Grade 6 students at Wilbraham & Monson Academy regarding new development in the seaside town of 14,000 residents.
Prior to the proposals, Ms. Basch was given the town reports from various departments: Engineering, Town Council, Geology and Ecology. Each report presented multiple challenges for the students.
Quotes
Ms. Basch on the students' presentations: "I thought they were terrific. They seemed excited. They were open to answering questions, they weren't intimidated, and they were passionate about their project. The topics they talked about were tangible to what we're dealing with. It was a pleasure to deal with a topic they will see in their lives; it wasn't something they will never see. I like that kind of learning."
Ms. Basch on how the students responded to her questions: "They were surprisingly very familiar with terminology I didn't expect them to understand. I intentionally created a challenge for them. I was impressed that nobody stepped back and didn't have an answer. Even if they were unsure, they went with it like they believed in it."
Middle School Science Department faculty member Jamie Gouin on the challenges for the students: "The challenge for the students was to come up with a building design that will overcome some obstacles, such as erosion, deposition, wildlife and traffic. This project is all student-run and project-based learning. They created the Google Slides, prototype models and presentations."
Sarah Henderson '25 on her group's project: "I liked how well our team worked together, and how many ideas we came up with and how we added them into our project. I thought it was an enjoyable thing because we had great teamwork."
Kayla Makkiya '25 on her group's biggest obstacle: "I was worried when I was about to go. We did it and I had some doubt. But doubt is just a feeling and you shouldn't let feelings get in the way because we ended up being selected with the best plan."