AHS hosts statewide Student Council Association convention

Published 10:00 am Saturday, May 7, 2022

Athens High School recently hosted a statewide Student Council Association convention. The weekend of April 30 included guest speakers, team building, a Make-A-Wish event and more.

Trey, a fifth-grader at Monrovia Elementary who has leukemia, will celebrate his 11th birthday in June. He has missed out on opportunities while undergoing treatment. Now cancer-free, he has been granted a trip to Hawaii with his family.

“Make a Wish actually assigned him to us because he is a local kid. When we partner with them, they try to make it someone that is local that can actually come to the events when they’re held for the reveal,” said Nicole Taylor with Athens City Schools.

The convention itself saw approximately 150 students in attendance who were allowed opportunities for team building, learning and networking.

The students began on Friday with a welcome event, including a luau and time to get to know other attendees from different schools.

Following the welcome event, author Brand Lee White addressed the students, followed by a special team-building exercise.

“We had a guest speaker who came in who actually talked about loyalty and leadership and different walks of life.

“It’s how we handle all the different things that we in our country see and come together as one to make for a better place. Then he actually taught them how to swing dance,” said Taylor.

The next day, superintendent Beth Patton and other school officials welcomed the students to Athens and spoke to students about effective leadership in a post-COVID-19 world, including how to meet people where they are at in different levels of comfortability with distancing, masking and other COVID-19 related issues.

The students were addressed by a second guest speaker, Ricky Kalmon, regarding mindset.

“He talks about the mindset and what you have to have as a leader and how to overcome and that he being told now and keep going and never giving up,” said Taylor.

The weekend allowed students all around the state to learn how to persevere in adversity and be effective and impactful leaders.