Student leaders selected to help incoming sophomores
February 12, 2015
Coming to a different, rather big school can be scary. Stillwater Area High School’s newest student leaders are here to help. Recently selected was a team of 22 new student leaders consisting of sophomores, juniors and seniors. Although this team of student leaders each have their own differing qualities, it is their ability to help others that ultimately got them the job.
As student leaders, their primary job will be to help new students looking for guidance as far as where to go and what to do in school, and next year will have the job of showing the incoming sophomores around the building, something that typically is very helpful.
These 22 student leaders were not simply given the position of student leader. They had to send in a application that expressed why they considered themselves best for the position and what certain traits and qualities they believed they had that are essential for the student leading position.
“It was a fairly simple application. It did not ask much about my grades or rigor of classes, more about how I acted in school, why I should receive the job, and what kinds of things I have done before that can help with this job,” said sophomore student leader Olivia Wojski.
When I was told about student leading and offered the opportunity I wanted to take it because I loved it when I had somebody to show me around the big school as an incoming sophomore and it made my first day way easier.
— Olivia Wojski
The student leaders offer the incoming students a great deal of help, and show them leadership, which is something that a new student coming into an unfamiliar environment needs. The student leaders are there to answer questions involving teachers, the school, classes or any general school questions someone may have.Now that I know what I am doing, I think it would be a fun opportunity to do that for other incoming students too,” said Wojski.
It is not only the new incoming sophomores that the student leaders are required to help. Anyone can go to the student leaders with questions anytime throughout the school year. If a foreign exchange student is new to SAHS, the student leaders are a perfect resource to use for advice.
“We can show around exchange or transfer students, give tours, if new students have questions about SAHS we can answer them from a students perspective, if teachers or authority figures need someone to step up we are expected to do that. Otherwise, we just need to be role models for other students and be someone kids can come to for help,” said Junior Natalie Ingram.
For many of the 2015 student leaders it was the fact that the previous years student leaders had done such a good job when offering advice or providing help to incoming students. This was a factor that persuaded themselves when contemplating applying for the job.
“When I was a sophomore someone took the time to tour the school with me and help me learn where everything was, so the first day of school was not so scary. All my friends were asking me questions about where stuff was so I felt pretty cool being able to answer them. That’s why I wanted to be able to do that for someone else,” said Ingram.
The 2015 student leaders are there to offer a helping hand in any way that they can. From incoming sophomores to foreign or transfer students, the 22 student team of leaders is available to answer questions and be role models at SAHS.
Alexander Pavlicin • Mar 31, 2015 at 7:52 pm
Very informative article that provided excellent background on what a student leader is. I learned a lot about the position that I did not know beforehand.
Kyle Alvarez • Mar 2, 2015 at 6:30 pm
Very well written article and it contained very compelling quotes. Even though the two links on the top were very close together, the student leader link, which provided an information page of the program, was very informative!
Chris M. Hoefferle • Feb 27, 2015 at 11:33 am
This article was very well written. As a parent in the community, these type of student-related leadership roles are so important. It’s peers co-working with peers. I believe students respond better with other students as their leaders. We have some awesome student leaders at Stillwater high school. Thanks for explaining to incoming students and their parents what they can expect from veteran students at the high school!!!
Katie Hutton • Feb 18, 2015 at 8:39 am
This article was very informative and the quotes added were good and added to the article. After reading this I feel like I really understand what the student leaders are doing and how they’re welcoming students. Good job!
Dennis Toenjes • Feb 18, 2015 at 4:56 am
The article was very well written and included a lot of primary and secondary resources. However, the paragraphs seem long and could have been divided into more of a fact-quote pattern.
Holden Schafer • Feb 17, 2015 at 10:13 pm
The quotes in this article really tied the article together and provided sufficient information about the student leaders. You also did a good job of explaining the topic and gave plenty of detail.
Braden Cousineau • Feb 17, 2015 at 10:01 pm
I really like how this bright author brought this pressing issue to thee spotlight that is sahsponyexpress.com. This article really brings out the efforts that the school is making to help incoming students feel right at home. I especially liked the part that focused on a specific leader, that really made the story for me! Thank you Mathias for the wonderful work!
Megan Friederichs • Feb 17, 2015 at 9:38 pm
Your article was written really well and captured exactly what the student leader opportunity is. The quotes helped add to what the students do as the leaders and what made them interested in doing it. The links also helped tie the story together and offered great information on the topic.
Braden Classon • Feb 17, 2015 at 4:56 pm
I enjoyed your article because it was very informative and made clear what this student leader opportunity really is. I enjoy the quotes you used because they were very well thought out and fit nicely into the article where you placed them. Your links are very helpful and direct me to websites that would further my knowledge about the topic.