Student Involvement by Jalynn

Student Involvement by Jalynn - September 2023 Scholarship Essay

If I could change my school in a positive way, I would increase the sense of the community felt by the student body. In my school, many of the students see school as a means to finish and do not truly see the benefits of having a holistic high school experience. At pep rallies, no one gets excited when they hear their grade level called or even cared when we had our first homecoming dance since returning from the pandemic. It not only affects things like homecoming and pep rallies, but makes it hard to have a positive learning environment because students don’t truly want to be there.

Since many students don’t really care to connect with one another, other students can get left out when they don’t have their peers to count on for support. There have been attempts to fix this lack of enthusiasm by staff attempting to engage the community, but it almost always falls short. This is because there is a disconnect in what the staff sees as fun and exciting in comparison to what the students actually want to participate in and view as fun.

However, instead of the staff leading, there should be more student-led initiatives where students would actually be able to take charge of their own community. There would be a setup where members of student councils and groups of the general student body can speak up about what actually excites them and would make them look forward to coming to school. Students would be able to join committees that they’re interested in for specific topics like a diversity committee, library committee, and academic committee. Each group would choose a committee leader that would join administrative meetings to discuss their priorities and concerns. By doing this they would be able to advocate for their needs and be a voice for the student body. Making these changes by getting students active on school committees would increase their sense of community.