Looking Inside Student Council: Preparing for Homecoming Week

Carrie Bradbury, Senior Editor and Review Desk Lead of The Powderhorn

Photo Credits: Carrie Bradbury

From left to right, seniors Bennany Vazquez-Gutierrez, Anneliese Daugherty, Carter Motton, Kaitlyn Meyer, and Stacy Eggers work together to build the senior banner. This banner will hang in the school cafeteria during Homecoming week.

The rush of Homecoming has begun, and Student Council is feeling the pressure. Homecoming week is a highlight of the fall semester for many high school students, but the work of the Student Council commences long before.

Student Council members work day in and day out to provide the student body with engaging activities, opportunities, and resources so that the school year is successful, although no one is more familiar with the task of serving the student body than Student Body President Stacy Eggers. In his role, Eggers is responsible for communicating to the principals the needs and complaints of the student body.

"I was inspired to be Student Body President because I like to talk to the administration and the talking to students aspect of Student Council," said Eggers. "It's a great opportunity for me to help students actually solve and change things in the school."

Blake Whiteside, sophomore, works to design one corner of the banner.

Eleanor Connell, Sophomore Class Treasurer, works on the class poster.

Being a leader within the school is an important role of Student Council members, but even leaders get tired. During the weeks leading up to Homecoming, the late nights and early mornings begin to add up. Staying focused on what matters most and why they are there in the first place is an incredibly important task as the burnout starts to build.

For Maddison Presnell, senior and Student Body Secretary, the community gained through Student Council is what keeps her motivated. In the weeks leading up to Homecoming, it's the family within Student Council that gives her the needed strength to keep working.

"You just grow a really close bond with them, You're there for the long nights and long weeks, especially during Homecoming weekend," said Presnell. "Being able to be involved in a way that is going to make a difference. That's really important to me."

Kaitilyn Meyer, senior, has gained a sense of personal growth from Student Council and has used the class to reach out of her comfort zone and try hard things. "Student Council has meant a lot. It has helped me grow as a person and as a leader. Its really made me enjoy serving people and leading people. It's really gotten me out of my shell," said Meyer.

Branching out within high school is an incredibly important skill for students to learn, and there is no quicker way to do that then by talking to the people in your classes. Junior Bailey Myers has enjoyed the opportunity to represent both her high school class and meet people within the Student Council class.

"My favorite part of student council is the community and also behind the scenes and seeing everyone work together," said Myers. "It's very inspirational."

For other members, it is not about what happens in the Student Council classroom, rather the events and opportunities it creates for students. Harper Costin, junior and a three-year member of student council, has a particular favorite of Homecoming week.

"My favorite event is the Spike Ball tournament because I like being out on the field with everyone, seeing the sunset, and getting to watch everybody have fun," said Costin. "I think that's a cool part of our community, that we have that many people that love Spike Ball."

Learning leadership skills is a motive for many student council members, like junior Sadie Rose Long.

"I was inspired to join because they do so much to help make the school a better place. They are activists for their students at the school," said Long. "I think a really important thing is to be able to make change, and be a good leader."

Sadie Rose Long and Xitlali Luna, juniors, work together to design and paint the junior banner. "I think my calling was to be of service," said Luna. "I just love serving people and I love helping people out."

Cameron Parker works with other Student Council members in her grade to create the junior banner."I feel like it is such a great leadership experience," said Parker. "It's made me a lot better of a public speaker."

Working with the same people every day on tasks that challenge one's skills and patience means keeping a strong bond between members is vital for the success of the student council. Ashlyn Smith, four-year member and Senior Class Delegate, has found a family within the Student Council that inspires her within the class and outside of it.

"I really like to serve people and I find joy making other people happy," said Smith. "Student Council is like a family where we get to serve the people, get to serve the school, and bring a little fun to Watauga High School."

Margaret Schlake, freshman, works on her first ever Homecoming banner alongside her classmates.

Ellie Sebastian, sophomore, works in earnest to draw and paint the banner.

Being able to represent the whole student body requires the members of Student Council to be a diverse mix of students. In a predominantly female class, seniors Bryce Williams and Carter Carson found that they fit perfectly into an open position that needed to be filled.

"I think a big thing is that there's not a ton of guys in the Student Council. A lot of the guys in school don't have a student representative," said Williams. "There are 38 people in the class and 5 of them are men, so I just felt like I could bring a different voice there."

Bringing a voice to people who don't always get one is an incredibly important aspect of the council. Carter has looked even beyond the high school in order to represent the high school to the larger community.

"Why I joined was because I really wanted to get this school more involved in the community, and I think the Student Council provides a really great resource for that," said Carson.

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