Fifteen student delegates and two
advisers from Eagle Pass High School joined nearly five thousand students and
advisors representing more than 400 student councils from across the state that
converged on the Arlington Convention Center April 10-12
for the annual Texas Association of Student Councils (TASC) Annual Conference.
Attending the conference were
EPHS Student Council members: Storm Rodriguez, Jerry Tapia, Valeria Zavala,
Vincent Salinas, Jose Olvera, Aida de Alba, Carlos Valdez, Marcus Appleton, Armando Trevizo, Diego
Casas, Angelica Garza, Sergio Martinez, Jazmin Guerra, Angelica Olvera and
Maria Garza. Accompanying the students were advisers Dolores Rodriguez and
Carmen Castañeda.
This year’s conference theme “EXPLORE
NOW……LEAD FOREVER!” urged student councils to include all students in exploring
their potential and finding the problems they want to solve, then gaining the
training to empower them to lead for a lifetime. The state service project, Project Shooting
Star, asked councils to plan projects in which kids help other kids to reach
their dreams. Student Council is the one
organization in a school that cares about and supports the entire school
community, and students were asked to reach out to their peers.
“We enjoyed the motivational
speakers and interactions with other councils,” said Storm Rodriguez, president
of Eagle Pass High School Student Council. “We learned how leadership skills
learned through Student Council can be applied to our lives before and after
graduation. One of the best parts of the conference was the memories we made
within our council.”
“We appreciate our principal John
Cox for allowing us to attend this conference said Marcus Appleton, 2016-2017
Student Council president. “We will definitely
implement what we learned to improve next year’s council.”
“Sharing the experience with our
sister school C.C. Winn High School was a great opportunity for our students to
bond and get to know each other. Our goal is for our councils to work together
to make the district even stronger. Can’t wait for next year!” added Dolores
Rodriguez, Stuco adviser.
The event was preceded by
opportunities to tour Cowboy Stadium or donate to Scottish Rite or Hot Dogs for
the Homeless. The conference included presentations by groups such as
Motivational Media; Dude, Be Nice; and Teens in the Driver Seat; breakouts
about projects and opportunities, and an evening at Six Flags. Speakers
included Scott Backovich, Harriet Turk, and Danny Baltimana.
Kemper High School hosted the
conference which is the largest gathering of student council leaders in the
United States. One of the primary purposes of the spring conference is to elect
state officers. Fourteen candidate schools campaigned during the
conference. The election was held Monday
with a swearing-in ceremony Tuesday morning.
TASC is a non-profit serving high school and middle level student councils in Texas. Sponsored by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals, its purposes are develop leadership abilities in students, promote democracy as a way of life, and uphold high standards for local councils. With over 1200 member schools, it is the largest state student council organization in the US.
