How to change a school by Olivia

How to change a school by Olivia - July 2018 Scholarship Essay

I have always been somewhat of a social person. I’ve never had trouble making friends or being outgoing, but when the time came for me to finally enter high school, I was scared. I didn’t know my way through the school, if I would make friends, if I would succeed, or if I would fit in. I remember the night before beginning my sophomore year, I sat in my kitchen crying to my parents. I wasn’t ready to start high school. By the next morning I had calmed down a bit, but I was still very nervous. As I approached the doors of the high school, a current student body officer approached me. She welcomed me warmly, asked me how I was doing, and told me exactly how to get to my first class. Chances are, she was assigned to do this job by her student body advisor, but the way she had approached the task, with enthusiasm and kindness, making me feel as if I had a friend on the first day, was something I’ll not soon forget. That single interaction changed my entire feeling about high school. It was no longer a terrifying place full of popular and unpopular people, but it was somewhere I could find a place. If I was ever to run for student body president, this is the feeling I would want everyone to have when entering the school.
So how does one create this welcoming environment that made my high school experience so incredible? I think it starts with enthusiasm, acceptance, and going the extra mile.
I was lucky enough to attend a high school that was welcoming and enthusiastic about everything, whether it was an assembly, a football game, or a band concert. All activities were announced, advertised, and attended by the student body officers. This gave the school a feeling that everyone was important. The football team was no more popular than the band, and it created an environment that, I believe, allowed a lot of kids and groups to mingle that wouldn’t have otherwise. Although these kinds of events don’t directly transfer over to the college world, I believe maintaining an enthusiastic attitude about campus activities and having an updated calendar of events for students to reference would help create a fun and welcoming environment. This will allow students to meet all kinds of different people and attend events they may have not heard about or wouldn’t have attended otherwise. It promotes a social and welcoming atmosphere that would greatly benefit the students of any school by helping them find a place to belong and take part.
Advocating and promoting acceptance is another important key to a welcoming school environment. It is important to ensure that every student not only feels like they can be themselves, but that they can create an impact and express ideas, as well. This is probably one of the most difficult steps to creating a welcoming school, especially in a college with thousands of students. I think that promoting acceptance begins with each individual. If you promote and are an example of acceptance, others will follow. Even if someone feels like only you are listening, it is still a first step towards them feeling accepted. As a student body officer, I would also encourage students to find clubs and pursue hobbies where they can meet likeminded people and express individual thought. It would be crucial to work with the administration to foster and create new opportunities for students who don’t feel like they belong in traditional settings. Where one student may feel accepted and enthralled at a football game, another might feel more open and accepted in a book club or a cooking class.

Finally, going the extra mile is essential for a student body president. Similar to the welcoming student body officer I encountered sophomore year, it is important that you not only do your job but do it with enthusiasm and love. My student body president could have simply greeted me, but instead she made sure I felt welcomed and secure. As a student body president, I would try to have this exact same effect on students. This alone could change your school and have a significant impact on the student attitudes. If student body officers go the extra mile, it could change the way students feel about their school attendance. Changing schools should no longer have to be a terrifying and overwhelming. Going the extra mile takes effort and dedication. It may include talking to introverted students, creating and promoting the creation of new clubs and organizations, working with adults, and spending personal time to better the school. Although challenging, going the extra mile for students we server always pays big rewards.
Making an impact on a school or student body is never a simple task, but as a student body president I would work tirelessly to create a welcoming environment in my school, as others have done for me. If implemented with enthusiasm, acceptance, and an extra-mile attitude, it will make an impact at any school in which I serve. I stand ready to get started and make a change. Here’s to creating the schools we all deserve.