Student Council attends SASC conference in Houma, LA
This weekend a student council delegation from St. Patrick High School attended the Southern Association of Student Councils Conference (SASC). SASC is a conference in which the fifteen south eastern most states are invited to send student council delegates to learn about leadership and participate in community service projects. On Friday after school, Mr. Buckley, Mrs. Buckley, Richard Springer, Natallie Noel, Shannon Kirkpatrick, Max Grill, Jamie Stanovich, Tyler Jackson, Matthew Bisner, Stephen Azar, Diego Riojas, Winfield Swetman, and J.R. Riojas departed from Biloxi, Mississippi, to Houma, Louisiana, where the conference was hosted. The delegation stayed in a hotel a few minutes away from Vanderbilt Catholic High School: this year’s SASC President and host school.
The St. Patrick Student Council ran for the SASC office of Parliamentarian. The council needed to perform a skit and they decided to use the theme of “Lucky Charms of Leadership.” The council passed out Lucky Charm breakfast bars as well as Lucky Charm themed business cards to add to the clever theme. J.R. Riojas and Richard Springer also had the opportunity to appeal to SASC on behalf of the entire council. Although St. Patrick did not win the election, many valuable lessons were learned. “We did really good for our first time running for an office and most importantly had fun,” said Jamie Stanovich on the bus ride returning to Biloxi.
Many incredible speakers spoke at the conference including Kevin Lowe, Houston Kraft, and Johan Kahalilian. Kevin Lowe spoke of his incredible story of becoming the first handicapped person to play Division I college basketball on a scholarship. He brought a message of never giving up on dreams to the audience. Houston Kraft conveyed a message about the importance of agape love, or unconditional love, in a humorous way. Finally, Johan Kahalilian explained his humble beginnings of growing up in the Chicago ghetto with family members in gangs. He emphasized that our surroundings do not decide who we are and for us to stay true to who we are as if there is always a microphone attached to our shirt.
On the final day of the conference, SASC traveled down the bayou to South Lafourche where a farewell fair was held. Students had the opportunity to try frog legs, funnel cakes and kettle corn. After eating snacks, students danced the “Cajun jitterbug” to a live band complete with a fiddler and a wash board player. The fair also gave students to exchange contact information and say goodbye to new friends.
The conference gave students an excellent chance to meet new people, learn new things, and practice leadership. The students returned to St. Patrick inspired and ready to continue to make a difference in our community.
< Click here for more photos from the SASC conference.
Story: J.R. Riojas; Photo credit: Mrs. Buckley