Student council camp a learning experience

CARA BROOKS courtesy photo

Sissonville High School student council members pose for a picture on their first day of camp. (Front) seniors Cara Brooks, Shannon Carpenter and A.J. Wiseman; (back) freshman Tyler Brown, senior Tanya Hosey, junior Ashley Taylor, sophomore Tim Taylor and senior Tom Hanson.

By Cara Brooks
Sissonville High School

What first comes to mind when you think about student council? Is it homecoming activities, fundraisers or dances? To most students, this is the extent of their knowledge about student council. But what does the group actually do?

Student council has been part of high school for years. This organized group of students strive to make your high school years as fun and memorable as possible. I have been a member of Sissonville High School’s student council for four years.

You might think that student council is just a group of overachievers who belong because it looks good on a college application. But if you did, then you’d be wrong. Student council does a lot more than most people realize and they often don’t receive the credit that they deserve. And let me tell you, it is extremely hard to come up with the number of activities and ideas we do with a group of only about 30.

Homecoming activities, dances and fundraisers are just a few events that the student council organizes. We also hold canned food drives, put on pep assemblies and talent shows and at Sissonville, we’re even planning a lock-in. We help the administration create the student handbook, giving them perspectives from the students’ point of view, and during Education Week, we do something each day to reward the teachers and end the week with a luncheon.

Though these regular student council duties are fun and build character, leadership is the most important quality that a student council member possesses. How do we learn such a skill? By attending student council camp.

More and more schools are attending the West Virginia Association of Student Councils’ statewide camps each fall and summer. Every school in the state is eligible to be part of the WVASC and attend these camps, but currently there are only 77 member schools. The WVASC aims to unite students from throughout the state to share ideas, learn leadership skills, set goals and make new, lifelong friends.

When you arrive at a WVASC camp for the first time, the only people you know are the people from your school. To branch out and meet new people, you’re split up into councils, where, if you’re lucky, you’ll wind up with another student from your school.

KAREN DONATHAN courtesy photo

Students at the West Virginia Association of Student Council’s Fall Convention participate in a “getting to know you” activity.

“[Student council camp] showed me that I could be comfortable with myself and that people I didn’t know could truly accept me for who I am,” said Conn Laughlin, a junior at Fairmont Senior High School. “People aren’t going to judge you like in high school. All the shallowness is out the door once you’re at camp. Everyone is there to get to know each other and have a good time.”

During the camp, you are with your council for about 60 percent of the day. This is when you really bond with your fellow council members and get to learn what types of activities and ideas their school’s student council has come up with.

The other main portion of the camp takes place in the assembly hall. There, we sing our corny council songs, discuss future goals, hold state officer elections and listen to guest speakers from across the country.

When you’re at a student council camp, you’re spending so much time with people just like you that it’s almost impossible not to make friends. It’s almost scary how in just three days, you can grow and learn so much.

“[Student council camp] has made me a better person,” said Sissonville senior Summer Henson. “Even though I am naturally very outgoing, it made me actually want to walk up to people and get to know them.”

Camp also helped former state officer and Bridgeport High School senior Tavia Blunt. “It definitely helped me come out and be more outgoing around people I was unfamiliar with. I was shy in front of people I didn’t know, and when I attended the Summer Workshop before my freshman year of high school it helped me get more of an idea of who I was.”

Currently, Sissonville, St. Albans, South Charleston, Riverside, George Washington and Winfield are the only Kanawha and Putnam County schools that are part of the WVASC. If you’re a student council member and would like your group to become a part of it, direct your advisor to www.wvasc.org. If you’re not a student council member but would like to become one, talk to a current member - if you join, you won’t regret it.