Students lead to change

The Student Leadership program is in its third year at Milton Area High School.

On every Day 1 Pride Time, the 34 members of Student Leadership meet to discuss their goals for Milton School District, said Advisor Mr. Nicholas Vega.

Mr. Vega said teachers recommended students for the program near the end of the last year. “They help choose students who are kind, honest and who put themselves out there,” he added.

“Student Leadership is a club in which students are chosen by identifying qualities that they would like to see reflected throughout the building,” he added.  Members of Student Leadership seek to improve and keep the culture of the school on a positive note, said Mr. Vega.

Former Advisor Ms. Allison Pauling said the first year of students were nominated in 2017 by their teachers. These students were noticeably “leaders” within their friend sets or classes, she added.

“Each year after that, we have taken recommendations from teachers, middle school guidance counselors and the students already on the team,” said Ms. Pauling. Some students have also joined by expressing their interest and volunteering themselves, she added.

Ms. Pauling said Student Leadership began after a trip a few teachers and administrators took to Bellefonte High School. They were looking at what other high schools do in order to improve school climate and establish school-wide norms, she added. The school had its own Student Leadership team, and the Milton faculty liked the idea, she said.

“We were very impressed by their team and used that as a framework for our own team,” added Ms. Pauling.

Senior Tori Brink is president of Student Leadership this year. Tori said she joined Student Leadership in her sophomore year because she believed in the club’s mission to better the school climate.

“Student Leadership gives students from different backgrounds and groups the opportunity to show their leadership skills and influence their peers in a positive way,” she added.

Mr. Vega said that Student Leadership is currently working on some fundraisers. “Students have the opportunity to sell Marianna’s subs to raise money to attend a series of leadership seminars in Disney this March,” added Mr. Vega. Any other fundraiser they decide on doing will go to their Knoebels trip at the end of the year, said Mr. Vega.

The members of Student Leadership discussed changing their name early in the school year, but decided that a name change wasn’t their first priority, said Mr. Vega. “It’s possible that we could re-examine what we want the name of the club to be, but it’s premature at the moment.”