"Will you help to create change?"
Written by Avery McMartin and Lena Marcocchio, students at Wadena Composite High School
Students
are the key to our future, whether they’re going to Nairobi with the Me to We
organization, or demonstrating the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This 5th
annual Student Day is about student presenters making change. A leader doesn’t
have to be front and center of every decision, but sets a good example for the
people around them. To be an active community member; have respect, be
positive, be trustworthy, promote equality, and these characteristics can build
a leader. Student day is devoted to the students who have promoted change, and
who demonstrate leadership, compassion, empathy, understanding, vision, and
equality. People who understand equality even though we may not be equal in
looks or wealth, have the power to inspire others around them or be inspired to
make a change in society. In my eyes, a leader is someone who has value and is
eager to reach a consensus to change an idea, way of life, a value, or convey a
moral. Not everyone will agree, but a leader will accept that not all will be
happy, and focus on the issue present. Their motivation will inspire followers,
and a chain reaction will bloom like a wave. This will provoke an outcome that
may be greater than the original idea.
At Student Day
2017, we had many great Horizon students present about how they
have become leaders. Kevin Garinger, Director of Education, first started off
the morning by telling us that we were all here because we are the leaders in
our schools. Jadyn Borstmayer, from Bruno School, then spoke to us a little bit about her
life changing journey to Kenya. Not only did she explain to us about how her
journey across the world made an impact, but also on how we can make an impact
in our communities as well. Bruno School also introduced their “Leader in Me”
project in their school. This project talked about the “7 Habits of Effective
learning”. They described each of the seven habits in a quick presentation to
further our knowledge and interest in bringing this back to our own schools.
Another school that presented was William Derby school. William Derby presented
their short films they worked hard on in their school. Lanigan Elementary School also had a fabulous presentation on social media. They talked about the
dangers of social media and how we can prevent getting hurt on the internet.
Our last speaker before lunch was Dr. Alec Couros. Dr. Couros spoke about digital
citizenship and how important it is to be safe on the internet. Each school and
presenter spoke greatly about how to become a positive role model and leader in
your life and schools. Lake Lenore School fundraised for a trip to Mexico and
reached their goal. They travelled to Cuernavaca to help with renovating a
woman’s shelter and serving food there. They also visited an orphanage, helped
renovate a house that was destroyed by a tree, and after they left Mexico,
continued funding the project and got positive and thankful feedback from the
owners of the shelter and the house. This demonstrates leadership because they
knew they wanted to fix something, and with fundraising they did at their own
school at their own time, and contributed to a change. These Lake Lenore students had a blast, and something I took away, was if you look at other
peoples perspectives and points of view, listen to other peoples’ stories and
think about your own life and differing aspects, that you can make a change. Video edited by Haley Bilokraly, student at Wadena Composite High School
Photos by Lena Marcocchio, Avery McMartin (Wadena Composite High School), Madisen Gordon and Tiara Pelltier (Punnichy Community High School)
