Setting sail the Leader-SHIP

Seneca Valley Senior High School hosted a Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils (PASC) Region Conference on Monday, January 15. The conference included student leaders from 12 schools from across western Pennsylvania, including the Ryan Gloyer Middle School (RGMS) and Intermediate High School’s Student Councils. Senior high students Gavin Cress, Lihini Ranaweera, Kathryn Sylves and Taryn Wilson chaired the event focused on leadership.

According to their website, PASC offers year-round opportunities for students and advisors to develop and apply leadership skills in order to improve themselves, their schools and their communities. Pittsburgh native Eric McElvenny was the keynote speaker and shared his experiences as a U.S. Marine Corps Officer and U.S. Paralympic Athlete. “Eric’s speech was incredibly inspiring and motivated me to keep setting goals,” said Miss Sylves. “His determination and courage are truly impressive, and I strive to be as resilient as he is.”

Fourteen student leaders presented workshops about a variety of topics – from how to run a large-scale event to how to avoid “rocky waters” in leadership. Students also played a breakout box game where they solved a variety of puzzles and riddles.

Before the day wrapped up, students and advisors participated in a school pairing seminar, where they shared successes and challenges within their school leadership groups. Student council member Ava Platt said, “The school pairing activity impacted me by allowing me to get insight as to how to better connect with my fellow students and faculty through unique activities that I may not get from my fellow classmates. We also discussed how to utilize all council members effectively during our events to help make every event run smoothly!”

Congratulations to all students who represented Seneca Valley with professionalism, leadership and SV Raider pride!