As the community gets ready to break ground on the long-awaited new Simon Sanchez High School campus, one student leader is sharing what this milestone means for the Home of the Sharks.

After a generational fight for a permanent home for the Sharks, the uphill battle is finally nearing an end.  A demolition of the existing Yigo campus,  and a groundbreaking for the new one, set for next Monday.

Zoe Atoigue, SSHS Class of 2028 president, told KUAM News, “It feels very exciting that we’re finally getting a step closer to getting our home back. It’s a great goal that we are finally getting accomplished, and for just using our voices.”

Those voices were impossible to ignore, with students making their plea directly to island leaders during a town hall meeting last year. Over the weekend, the Leon Guerrero Administration announcing that the project is officially moving into its next phase, with the contract awarded to CoreTech International Corporation.

It marks a long-awaited step forward for students like Atoigue, who added, “I would for sure say getting our regular schedule back–during double session, it’s hard with extracurriculars, getting home around 7 o’clock, on top of homework and chores, and I'm really excited to get that normal schedule back—and our events–because we take a lot of pride in that.”

The new campus will include 87 classrooms across the A, B, and C wings to expand instructional space, a full-sized gymnasium, a new auditorium, a dedicated JROTC classroom, and more—with capacity for up to 2,000 students. And as anticipation builds for this major milestone, Atoigue sharing this message for her fellow students, saying, “Congrats, Sharks! We’re finally one step closer to getting our home back. We did it!”