Members of Thomas County Central High School’s Student Council recently attended the Georgia Association of Student Councils Leadership Summit 2014.
The event was held Nov. 17 at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. Delegates from the TCCHS student council included Beth Sharpe, Katie Simmons, Natalie Smith, Stevie Moody, Conley Wilhelm, Vince Wynn, and J. Ben Smith. Also in attendance was their advisor, Teresa Carver.
“The reason leadership is important to our society is because it provides a structure for teamwork,” participant Beth Sharpe said. “Student council is here to support movement and change for the better, through leadership and teamwork.”
The TCCHS council was one of 40 middle and high school student council groups, and one of two from the southwest Georgia district, that participated.
Participant Vince Wynn said it was “humbling” to be one of the few schools to represent southwest Georgia.
“The student leadership conference held in Atlanta was a blast,” Wynn said. “It was interesting to meet student leaders from across the state and realizing the different problems and experiences facing their part of the state. It was a great experience.”
Members were presented with a proclamation from Gov. Nathan Deal marking the week of Nov. 17-21, 2014, as Georgia Student Council Week.
Students and advisors attended leadership breakout sessions and two joint sessions. Speakers included: District 178 Rep. Chad Nimmer; Darrel Chaney, a former major league baseball player and sports announcer; Samantha Mohr, a former Miss Georgia and CNN/Headline news meteorologist; David Carr, Grammy Award winner and member of music group Third Day; and, Kimyung Kim, motivational speaker and freestyle rapper.
“I learned that planning is the most important part of getting anything done with the school and we planned an event for practice,” participant Conley Wilhelm said. “We had the opportunity to meet our state leaders and many other important figures. It was an amazing experience. Having the opportunity to sit on the state house of representatives’ floor was almost unreal.”
Participant Katie Simmons was moved by Mohr’s speech.
“(A former) Miss Georgia told us to follow our hearts and do whatever we love best,” she said. “She said if we had a specific love to follow that love and change our community one small service project at a time.”
The overall theme of the summit stressed students caring for their corner of the world and delegates were challenged to “Think the impossible, believe the impossible, and do the impossible.”
“The 2014 leadership summit was a worthwhile experience that taught me about the true meaning of leadership that I will apply to my role as class president, and in my adult life,” participant J. Ben Smith said.
Sharpe said the conference changed her perception of student council.
“Student council, to me, was always a group of people who came up with the ideas for school activities meant for entertainment, such as homecoming, pep rallies and prom,” she said. “When we representatives for TCCHS first arrived at the capitol building we were not prepared for what we saw. Students over the state of Georgia had devoted their time and attention toward learning how to improve their skills as leaders who are attentive and open to ideas besides their own.”
Participant Stevie Moody thought the trip was “amazing” and encouraged others to participate in future summits.
“I got to hear some awesome tips on how to be a better leader in my everyday life,” he said. “As I get ready to go to college, I’m going to use everything I was taught. I recommend this trip to upcoming student council members.”