Five Olds High School students brought back memorable experiences from the Canadian Student Leadership Conference in Montague, P.E.I. from September 15 to 21.
Geertje Vandenbroek, Carter Cissell, Samantha Statchuk, Dylan Doucet and Luke Radau joined 11 other students and five teachers from Chinook's Edge School Division schools at the annual national student conference. The conference featured an array of speakers and other activities to promote leadership among the students who attended. There were about 700 student delegates plus teachers who attended the conference from across Canada. All of the students from OHS who attended the conference take part in the school's leadership class.
As part of the conference, students listened to various keynote speakers such as Gen. Rick Hillier, who formerly led Canada's armed forces, as they talked about various aspects of leadership and how to impact schools and the wider community. The students also did workshops with some of the speakers who attended the event.
The theme of the conference was “Light the way.”
Vandenbroek, a Grade 11 student, said the conference was a good learning experience, especially in terms of learning about another part of Canada. Learning about Anne of Green Gables, the importance of the potato crop and other cultural nuances of P.E.I. was a highlight.
“We got to experience what it's like to be in P.E.I., not just as a tourist, but as a leader and a delegate. Just seeing people from all over Canada come together and share their perspective and views (was good),” she said.
Cissell, a Grade 12 student, said he felt the conference was a great opportunity to learn from the keynote speakers about how people can become successful in different ways.
“It was really powerful to see that many people from all across Canada come together for a common cause just to be better leaders and make a difference in their communities. It was really powerful and I definitely learned a lot of new things that I hope to take back to my community and put them to work in my school,” he said.
Statchuk, a Grade 10 student, said it was good to come together with so many other students to make a difference in the community.
“It was really awesome to hear different ideas of what people are doing in their own communities and how it was changing their school,” she said.
Doucet, a Grade 11 student, said going to the conference was an inspirational experience.
“There's so many people across Canada who just want to help other people. There's a lot of people in the world looking out for themselves but this conference was just people who would look out for others before themselves, so it was really awesome to see that there are so many people like this in our country,” he said.
Sandra Dorowicz, a teacher who accompanied the students from OHS to the conference, said the students were inspired through the speakers and the workshops they heard and attended. Getting to speak with other students from all over Canada was beneficial as well.
”It was really good for the kids. They just make friends from all over this country. It's very patriotic,” Dorowicz said.
Hillier's keynote address touched on people and relationships and Dorowicz said that was a good message for the students to hear.
“As long as you keep it about people, you will have success. For students, as they're planning things for their school, just try to keep it about the people you're trying to impact,” she said.
The Olds Rotary Club and the Olds Lions Club each donated $1,500 to the group to offset costs associated with the trip.
