The Instagram account Pihi Info recently celebrated its fourth birthday, and over the years it has evolved into a vital school-related news source for students and families.
Pihi Info is an Instagram account created in 2020 by now-Pioneer alumnus Gabrielle Pacifico to provide easily accessible and comprehensive Pioneer updates for students and their families. Today, the account is run by seniors Sanjita Pulgam and Lily Wright, alongside Junior Gabby Thomas. The account has nearly 2,500 followers and over 900 posts dedicated to helping the Pioneer community stay up to date.
Pulgam explained that Pihi Info is a platform that provides guidance to anyone who needs it. “We’re dedicated to being a source of information that is accessible to all students, staff, and family,” Pulgam said.
The account makes posts about topics ranging from club information to important health updates involving the school. Much of the information comes from Principal Desmond Smith’s weekly newsletters and additional email updates.Pulgam explained, however, that the group is not commissioned by staff to post certain information, though they do occasionally have meetings with Mr. Smith and groups like the Action Committee and the Student Council. “(School administrators) don’t tell us to do anything,” she said. “There’s a few things that some student council advisors will ask us to post, or, some counselors would tell us mostly about senior information. But other than that, we’re completely on our own, and we take our information from Mr. Smith’s emails.”
Not only are the members proud to provide a helpful service to the Pioneer family, but they also expressed gratitude for the skills they’ve gained including editing, design, and using the digital graphic tool Canva, while being a part of Pihi Info. “I’m way better at shortening information down and keeping it concise and clear and just picking out the main points,” said Pulgam. “I’ve definitely expanded my world into Canva. Canva has been my best friend,” added Thomas.
In addition to the public postings, the group also responds to private direct messages (DMs) that anyone can send in. Thomas said she’s very happy to receive DMs and answer them for people. “People DM us a lot, and I’m glad that I get to help them out because I know if it’s a case where you’re DMing us, it’s probably really itching at you to have to get out (that information),” she said. “So
I appreciate the people who do DM us, and I appreciate that me, Lily, and Sanjita, have the discipline to find the answers if we don’t already know them.”
Students see Pihi Info as a valuable resource and appreciate that it’s student-run. “I rely on Pihi Info a lot,” said senior Raven Lauzzana, “I think the students know what’s the most important over what the staff sees is most important because it’s kind of like your own peers.”