Global Importance of Student Government

November 24th, 2020

When I started secondary school in 7th grade, I remember looking up at the 11th and 12th graders wishing to be leaders like them. I watched them be inclusive, supportive, outgoing and I was inspired by them. Now as a 12th grader I can proudly say I’ve become that. I am the student body president and I work to be inclusive, supportive, and outgoing within the community. Through being a leader in student government, I’ve learned to empower students to participate and share their unique voices. My term as president has been online. Starting this term with a new council, I was scared that the online environment would prevent me from being the leader I wanted to be. I was scared that instead of the fun meetings and companionship I’d had planned on, I would be met with silent zoom calls, muted microphones and cameras turned off. However, I’ve made it my mission to create connections with these members and empower them to extend this connection to the rest of the highschool. I’ve been able to watch my team’s confidence and community leadership grow: making announcements, promoting events, helping cut the potential silence of online school. This leadership experience has prepared me to be a leader in any situation. I’ve learned to power through the unknown and lead through empathy and connection, empowering those around me. To me, leadership relates to the issue of global importance. It is important that we know how to lead so we can be leaders within our local and global community. Also by learning how to be a leader I know what to expect from my leaders, from teachers to political leaders.
I’m working to use my leadership to create a project that endures. I’ve had multiple CAS projects throughout the last two years, many that have not endured but this one I have confidence will endure. I’m working to create a strong team hopefully inspiring them to continue participating in student government in the following years.
This project is important to two versions of the world. #1 our perception of the world. As high school students, we are learning skills to manure the “real world” and these skills will shape our perception of it. In student government, I have learned leadership, empathy, and relationship skills that will shape my perception of the world in years to come. The second version being the physical world, through student government we create leaders that will then go on to be leaders in their future communities changing the world around it. It is a trickle-down effect.

Thank you for reading,

Grace

*Challenges were undertaken showing that new skills are learned, Show perseverance and commitment to your project, Work collaboratively with others, Engage with issues of global importance.