PASC News Volume 38Issue 4

December 2013

continued on page 2

By Pat Zancolli, North Penn HS

Three Pennsylvania student leaders had the unique opportunity to attend a Student Voices Session hosted by Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan in Washington, D.C., last month. On November 22, Danielle Croner, PASC President, Matt Cleaver, Interboro High School junior School Board representative, and Pat Zancolli, North Penn High School SGA president, trav-eled to the Department of Education with PASC Executive Director Jim Finnemeyer.

The three students joined four Maryland Association of Student Councils’ officers, four students from high schools in both northern and southern Virginia, and four seniors from Georgetown University for a meeting regarding the United States Department of Education’s fu-ture plans to create a college ratings system. They also discussed ways to revise how universities are funded by the federal government.

The meeting began with a discussion with Duncan’s senior staff members. During this discussion, student leaders shared what they felt

was important to keep in mind when selecting a college and also what concerns they had with the current financial aid system. After talking and deciding what things needed to be discussed in further detail, Duncan’s staff members turned the meeting over to Arne Duncan and his un-dersecretary, and the students were able to give him their direct input on how an online college ratings system should look and how to improve financial aid and its accessibility.

The Student Voices Session was a fantastic op-portunity for local student leaders to have a na-tional impact. PASC is proud of Danielle, Matt, and Pat for participating in such an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas with educational leaders at the national level.

Student Voices Heard at U.S. Department of Education

Danielle Croner, Matt Cleaver, and Pat Zancolli traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for a student voices session.

PASC Executive Director Jim Finnemeyer assumed a new position as executive director of the National Association of Workshop Directors (NAWD) in Austin, Texas, at the organi-zation’s annual National Con-ference on Student Activities on December 8.

The headquarters of NAWD has now moved from central California to suburban Phila-delphia. NAWD was founded in 1973 by the late Dr. Earl Reum of Colorado, noted lead-ership educator and speaker.

The goals of NAWD in-

clude training and providing networking opportunities for individuals who are directors and on the staffs of leadership workshops. NAWD also pro-vides resources and training for advisors of all types of student activity organizations at the high school, middle school, and

Jim Finnemeyer Assumes Duties As NAWD Executive Director

InsIde ThIs Issue

News & Notes ..................... 2

•Website Resources

•National Council of Excel-lence Applications Due in February

•PASC to Send The Advocate

Thank You PASC Members and Friends ........................... 2

2012 United States Senate Youth Scholars Named ...... 3

Mark Your 2014 Calendar with These Summer Leader-ship Workshop Dates ......... 3

NASC To Hold LEAD Conference in Washington, D.C. ....................................... 4

PASC to Provide Free LEAD Conference Registration ... 4

PASC Heads to Florida for NASC Conference .............. 5

A Student’s View of the NASC Conference .............. 5

Deadline Extended to Apply for NASC Student Advisory Council .................................. 6

Summer Workshops Boost Self Esteem ........................... 7

Fun with Olympic-Style Ac-tivities ..................................... 7

Student Voice and Civic Engagement .......................... 8

PASC News • December 2013 • www.pasc.net2

News & NotesWebsite Resources Now Include PAL Conference MaterialsIn late September, Terri Johnson, Missouri Association of Student Councils Executive Director and featured presenter for the PASC-sponsored PAL Conferences, shared materials on Finish Strong. Finish Strong focuses on steps to take working with student leaders, faculty members, and administrators to create positive school climates throughout a school district. Working with high school students the Finish Strong program reaches out to elementary schools and middle schools within the district to build a dynamic and positive paradigm shift. Materials now being posted on the PASC website under the Resources tab will allow both those who at-tended the PAL Conferences and other PASC member schools to adopt the Finish Strong model in full or in part. Click on Resources at www.pasc.net.

National Council of Excellence Applications Due in FebruaryIt is time for your student council members to organize information on projects, minutes and agendas of meet-ings, and other information that can be used to support the council’s application to NASC as a National Council of Excellence for 2013.

Many PASC member councils have done many outstand-ing things since January 1, 2013. PASC would like to en-courage all councils to apply for this prestigious award. Details on the application process and the appropriate forms can be found at www.nasc.us. The application, based on the council’s accomplishments for calendar year 2013, is due to NASC on February 15, 2014.

PASC to Send The AdvocateBeginning this month, PASC will send The Advocate newsletter, created by the Alliance for Student Activities, to PASC member advisors. The goal of the Alliance is to promote the value of involvement in student activities to educators, school boards, administrators, and legislators.

The Alliance advocates that the student activities pro-gram is the missing link in the educational reform move-ment of the 21st Century. The Advocate will provide examples of the impact that studsent activities are suc-cessfully having in schools and communities across the nation. PASC has partnered with the Alliance in support of our joint goals. It is hoped that PASC member advi-sors will gain new ideas to use in their own schools and will be encouraged by the examples that will be shared.

Thank You PASC Members and FriendsBy Jim Finnemeyer, PASC Executive Director

The PASC State Conference weekend at Boyertown High School was an awesome event. Thank you, Boyertown students, advisors, administration, and community.

To say the least, the conference was filled with an incredible series of surprises for me. With my tenure with PASC ending on March 1, there are so many more things to do. I really did not give a great deal of thought to the fact that, in my role as execu-tive director, this was my last PASC State Conference. That all changed on Thursday night when Andy Costanzo interrupted my opening remarks and presented me with a Treasure Chest filled with the nicest notes and letters from so many present student council members and advisors, as well as former students and advisors with whom I have worked over the past 37 years. Added to that were the notes from so many friends across the country.

With that having occurred, I again put aside any thought of rec-ognition until NASC Executive Director Ann Postlewaite tapped me on the shoulder at the banquet on Friday evening. Another shock! Her kind remarks, along with those by Christian Hodges, NASC Region 2 Student Rep from Maryland, and Lou Miller, executive director from New Jersey and NASC Region 2 Adult Rep, were touching.

More surprises came during the General Session on Saturday morning with the slide show created by Kathy and Edward Coll highlighting my 37 years as executive director. Then, one more BIG surprise—the presentation of the quilt and pillows made from PASC t-shirts collected over the years from state conference, national conferences, and summer workshops. What a beautiful gift made by PASC website coordinator, Dotty Noll.

I will save my final remarks to PASC until the February PASC NEWS, but know that I truly appreciate the creativity and thoughtfulness of each and every one of you.

PASC News • December 2013 • www.pasc.net 3

Senators Robert Casey and Pat Toomey have announced the selection of Stanley Marciniak III and Xiomara Salazar as the Pennsylvania delegates to the 52nd Annual United States Senate Youth Program in Washington, D.C. Stan and Xiomara were named following recommendation from the US Senate Youth Scholarship Selection Committee.

n Stan Marciniak, a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has served as class president for four years at North Hills High School (District 3). He also is student representa-tive to the school board and president of the National Honor Society. Stan is involved with both

Special Olympics Bowling and Track and Field. In addition, he volunteers with Make-A-Wish, at clothing drives for homeless, and for the Backpack Initia-tive, providing food for the weekends to hungry students in need. Stan plans to major in political science.

n Xiomara Salazar is Student Council representa-tive at Berwick High School (District 7). In addition to student council, Xiomara is active in NHS, FBLA, yearbook, Model UN Club (president), and SADD (president). Two community service activities that are important to Xiomara are Prom Project, which collects

and redistributes prom dresses free to students in need, and Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) in which 12 high school leaders are charged with deciding how $20,000 annually provided by the school district should be given to worthy K–12 educational projects. Xiomara’s goal is to become an immigration lawyer.

Stan and Xiomara will each receive $5,000 scholarships and will attend a program in Washington in March sponsored by the Wil-liam Randolph Hearst Foundation. Two additional state finalists, Danielle Croner of Boyertown High School (District 13) and Brandon Posner of Central Bucks East High School (District 12) were named as alternates for the program.

2013 United States Senate Youth Scholars Named

Stan Marciniak

Xiomara Salazar

Mark Your 2014 Calendar with These Summer Leadership Workshop DatesPASC will establish the registration cost for the 2014 summer programs at its meeting in mid-January. Share these dates with underclass members of your student council, class governments, NHS, and other student organizations so that they may plan now for a week of learning, fun, and personal growth this sum-mer.

Blue workshops are for middle level students in grades 7–9 while Gold workshops are for high school students in grades 9–12 (2014–2015 school year). A registration for a PASC Summer Leadership Workshopscan make a great Christmas or holiday gift.

Please note the following dates and locations and begin planning now for students to attend in July.

Blue (Grades 7–9)

Grove City College July 13–17

Alvernia University July 27–31

Gold (Grades 9–12)

Grove City College July 20–25

Susquehanna University July 27–Aug 1

Advanced Gold (Grades 11–12)

University of Pittsburgh/Johnstown July 13–19

NAWD from pg. 1

elementary levels. NAWD is a strong advocacy group highlight-ing the value of student activities within the educational programs of schools across the nation. NAWD partners with the Alli-ance for Student Activities, the National Association of Second-ary School Principals, and other leading educational organizations.

NAWD holds its annual gather-ing as the National Conference on Student Activities each year on the first weekend of December. The location of the NCSA meeting rotates among cities in the eastern, central, and western United States.

PASC has been a longtime sup-porter of NAWD and the NCSA, hosting conferences in Washing-ton, D.C. (1982), Philadelphia (1989), Pittsburgh (1998), and again in Washington, D.C. jointly with the Maryland Association of Student Councils (2006).

PASC News • December 2013 • www.pasc.net4

NASC will sponsor a LEAD Conference at a familiar site to PASC member schools the week-end of January 31–February 2, 2014. The con-ference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia (near the Pentagon). The LEAD Conference is designed for student council and National Honor Society members in grades 6–12 with special program strands for middle level stu-dents, high school students, and advisors.

These exciting and reward-ing weekend meetings are designed to encourage inter-state communication among student leaders and advisers, to strengthen leadership skills, and to prepare those attending for leadership roles on the local, state, and regional levels. To register, Go to www.LEADConferences.org, choose the site of the conference you wish to attend, then click on the registration information link. Deadline to regis-ter online at the member school early-bird rate ($195) is January 13, 2014. Regular registration deadline: January 21, 2014 with a registration fee of ($215).

ScheduleThe conference begins on Friday afternoon and ends on Sunday morning.

Friday:

3:00–6:30 Registration

7:00–8:45 General Session with Keynote Speaker: Scott Greenberg

9:00–10:30 Interactive Programs for Students and Advisors

Saturday:

7:30–4:00 Breakfast, Second General Session: Camfel Productions, Workshops for Students and Advisors, Large Group Workshops, and Leadership Training

4:30–7:30 Dinner On-Your-Own

8:00–10:00 Third General Session with Keystone Speaker: Brodie Kaster

Sunday:

7:30–8:30 Breakfast

8:45–10:45 Closing General Session with Keynote Speaker: Andy Thibodeau

10:45–Noon Departure

Speakers:Scott Greensburg www.scottgreenburg.comBrodie Kaster www.brodiekaster.comAndy Thibodeau www.andypresentations.com

NASC to Hold LEAD Conference in Washington, DCPASC NEWS is published monthly during

the school year. To submit

announcements, articles, or corrections for newsletters, please email the Executive Director or Assistant Ex-ecutive Director. Articles or information from PASC NEWS may be reproduced for use, with appropriate credit.

Executive DirectorJim FinnemeyerNorth Penn HS1340 Valley Forge RoadLansdale, PA 19446215-280-9299215-855-0632 (Fax)Finnemeyer@aol.comPASCInfo@aol.com

Assistant Executive DirectorKathy Ann Coll174 Link AvenuePittsburgh, PA 15237412-366-5744Kcoll1@comcast.net

PASC PresidentDanielle CronerBoyertown High School120 N. Monroe StreetBoyertown, PA 19512

PASC President-ElectCourtney DetwilerAltoona High School1415 6th AvenueAltoona, PA 16602

PASC News EditorLyn FiscusLeadership Logistics

PASC Email:PASCInfo@aol.com

PASC Website:www.pasc.net

PASC to Provide a Free Registration to a LEAD Conference for a PASC Member Advisor PASC was very lucky when Executive Director Jim Finnemeyer won a drawing during the recent Na-

tional Conference on Student Activities for a free registration for a 2014 NASC LEAD Conference.

This registration can be applied for the program in Washington, D.C. ( January 31–February 2), Chicago, Illinois (February 14–16), or Phoenix, Arizona (November 8–10).

To be considered for the free registration PASC advisors are asked to do the following:

1. Send an email to PASCInfo@aol.com by January 2, 2014

2. Include the advisor’s name, school, email address, and phone number

3. In fewer than 100 words, write why you want to attend and how your attendance will ben-efit your school.

The “essays” will be read and 10 entries will be selected to be part of a random drawing on January 4. The winner and all participants will be notified by email on January 4. The winner will then complete his or her LEAD registration and PASC will notify NASC regarding who will have the free registra-tion. Good luck advisors, this is a great opportunity to see what a great program LEAD is for both students and advisors.

PASC News • December 2013 • www.pasc.net 5

“Aye, mate!” chart your course for Orlando, Florida, and come along on the voyage to “Discover the Treasures of Leadership” at the 2014 NASC National Conference. From June 27–29, we drop anchor at Ocoee High School, host of the 2014 confer-ence. On June 25, students and advisors from all over PA will head south to Orlando until Monday, June 30.

Travelers will depart from either the Pittsburgh or Phila-delphia Airports and head to the amazing Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, located in the Walt Disney World® Resort. The Hilton Orlando is an Official Walt Disney World® Hotel and is ideally situated next to the Downtown Disney® Marketplace, Downtown Disney® West Side, and Cirque du Soleil®.

PASC squads, composed of advisors and students, will begin their adventure as soon as the planes touch down in Orlando, as we head to “the moon.” Okay, only virtually as we take a trip to the Kennedy Space Center and tour the NASA facility and Apollo/Saturn V Center to see rockets and their launch pads and enjoy a shuttle launch experience.

The Magic Kingdom and Epcot are on the agenda next, as we visit Walt Disney World, which covers an area twice the size of New York’s Manhattan. There will be plenty of rides mixed with a dose of Disney characters, storytelling, and thrilling roller coasters. At Epcot, there will be lots of different countries to immerse in food, shopping, and culture. We will try to fit in some time in a water park for sun and adventure.

On Saturday, the real adventure starts as we join fellow confer-ence delegates from across America to head to Ocoee High School

and the excitement of the NASC Conference. Continue to check out www.NASC.us for more de-tails about the actual conference schedule and programs. Sunday evening will be spent with all the students and advisors of Region 2 (NY, NJ, MD, and DE) for a fun-filled final night at Dave and Busters. Our delegation will leave the “magic,” the friends and the excitement of the Orlando conference as we journey home to PA on Monday, June 30.

The total fee for the trip and conference is $1,400. This will

include all transportation (plane and bussing), registration fee for the conference, hotel stay at a Disney resort, all entertainment including entrance fees to the Disney properties and to the Ken-nedy Space Center, meals (except lunches on pre-trip), chaperones, a special Region 2 activity on Sunday night at Dave and Busters, buttons, and state and region shirts.

All the current information and registration process is online at PASC.net. This PASC reservation form and $500 non-refundable deposit are due by February 15, 2014. Delegates will be notified when to register on the NASC site and the details on how to do it.

Present your student council workshop at an NASC conference to students from all over the country! What an honor and all details and forms are available on the PASC.net website under PASC trip to NASC conference. All applications for presenters need to be sent to Kathy Coll, PASC Trip Coordinator by Febru-ary 1, so watch that deadline!

Make PASC and the NASC experience a part of your summer! For questions, contact Kathy Coll at kcoll1@comcast.net

PASC Heads to Florida for NASC Conference

By Maura Gouak

I traveled across the country last summer from Philadel-phia, Pennsylvania to Las Vegas, Nevada to join delegates from across the country at the NASC national conference. The second I walked into the room filled with other students just like me, I couldn’t help but to be myself. If you want to be

a part of something larger than yourself and larger than your student council, you should at-tend the NASC Conference.

While at the National Confer-ence we had the opportunity to witness amazing speakers. The first day there we were introduced to the speaker Phil Boyte. Phil talked about understanding one another

and about remembering each other’s names. He told us he knows we will forget people’s names and we just need stop and say “Hi!” Later that night, the students heard Jason Hewlett speak. Jason Hewlett was one of my favorite speakers. He was funny and connected to the audience. He talked to us about what

makes us unique and different to other people. Jason has his own unique talents, which he displayed very well. On the second day of the conference, we listened to John Beede talk about climbing on. John talked about his trek up Mount Ever-est and the struggles he faced. We all have our own moun-tains and struggles. Following

A Student’s View of the NASC Conference

continued on page 6

PASC News • December 2013 • www.pasc.net6

In mid-November the National Association of Student Councils announced it will once again have eight student positions on the NASC Ad-visory Council. For the past several years only half the regions had a representative at one time. Under the old system, Region 2 (DE, MD, NJ, NY, and PA) would not have a student represen-tative on the Advisory Council beginning July 1, 2014 when present representative Christian Hodges’ two-year term comes to an end. The inclusion on the Advisory Council of students from all eight regions has changed the expecta-tions of and job description for the student nominee that PASC will select for this position.

Duties of Student Representative The job description published in PASC News

in October consisted of items 1–5 below. With the expansion of this position, items 6 and 7 have been added to the job description. This student will:

1. Serve from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2016.2. Foster communication among the state presi-

dents and executive directors of the Middle Atlantic states.

3. Communicate student ideas and concerns from the states of Region 2 with student representa-tives serving on the NASC Advisory Council.

4. Assist with planning the annual April meeting of Region 2 state officers and executive directors.

5. Foster the sharing of ideas and projects among the state organizations of Region 2.

6. The student will be required to attend NASC Advisory Council meetings in Reston, Vir-ginia, in January 2015 and January 2016, as well as the NASC Conference in June 2014, June 2015, and June 2016. The student may also be required to attend an NASC LEAD Conference in 2015 and 2016. In this role the student Advisory Council members will be asked to do the following:

a. Identify and bring forth student council-relat-ed issues, topics and concerns to NASC.

b. Provide critical review, feedback, and recom-mendations on issues, topics, or concerns as requested by the NASSP Board and staff.

c. Provide periodic review and recommend revisions or enhancements to NASC Awards

programs as requested.d. Assist NASC staff as called upon during the

NASC National Conferencee. Members may be asked to attend other meet-

ings or conferences in which student input is needed. NASC covers expenses for all required meetings.

7. If the Pennsylvania nominee is selected for this position, he or she also will be invited to attend three PASC Executive Board meetings and the PASC State Conference each year of the term to make reports to PASC. Trans-portation, meals, and accommodations for meetings will be paid for by PASC.

Selection Guidelines

The student representative on the NASC Advi-sory Council must:1. Be enrolled in a secondary school that is a

member of NASC and PASC.2. Be a sophomore or freshman at the time of

selection. (March 2014)3. Be able to attend the Executive Board meeting

for an interview at Altoona HS on March 7, 2014

4. Be able to attend NASC Region 2 Selection interviews in April in New Jersey.

PASC ProcessPASC is beginning the process of naming a

Pennsylvania nominee for this position. Present freshman and sophomores may apply. The fol-lowing is the PASC application process.1. Download information and an application at

www.pasc.net.2. Submit the application online at www.pasc.

net or email it to kcoll1@comcast.net by the deadline of February 10, 2014.

3. The applications will be reviewed and three finalists selected. Students will be notified by February 24, 2014.

4. The three finalists will be interviewed by the NASC Relations Committee on Friday, March 7, 2014, at Altoona Area HS.

5. The PASC nominee will be interviewed at the NASC Region 2 State Officers meeting in New Jersey on Saturday, April 26, 2014, with other nominees from NASC Region 2 states.

Deadline Extended to Apply for NASC Student Advisory Council

John, our Bob Tryanski (former PASC Regional Rep) talked a little about himself before he started the “Illumination,” which is something so amaz-ing to just see and be a part of. The last day, we heard from Amy Gallimore. She was one of my favorites. She was funny, relatable, engaging, and kept my attention.

Throughout the conference, we attended workshops and speaker. During the speaker showcase, students heard different speakers in much smaller-sized groups, which allowed us to get to know the speakers and do breakout activities. Several could be considered for PASC district and state conferences.

I thoroughly enjoyed attend-ing the NASC Conference. I am hoping that next June we will get an even larger group from Pennsylvania to attend the conference in Orlando, Florida!

PASC delegates to the 2013 NASC National Conference Mallory Mokay and Maura Gouak visit with speaker Jason Hewlett and his son.

A Student’s View of NASC from pg. 5

PASC News • December 2013 • www.pasc.net 7

By Elizabeth Bina, Region G Rep, Bangor HS

Sixty-seven spectacular students from across the state of Penn-sylvania attended the Advanced Gold Summer Workshop at Pitt-Johnstown this past July. While in attendance at this workshop, delegates garnered amazing leadership and life skills and encoun-tered situations that helped shape them into the fantastic people they are today. Unfortunately, not every student in the Keystone state has the chance to spend a week with fellow leaders. There-fore, PASC would like to share a few tips from its workshop with the readers of PASC News.

Any student, advisor, or observer who has attended a PASC event can attest to the positive and supportive atmosphere. Stu-dents are free to speak their minds without fear of criticism and mockery. What an ideal world it would be if PASC existed every-where; sadly, this is not the case. Students, each day, are placed in situations where they feel insignificant, inadequate, or worthless. It is the responsibility of those who have the resources to alter the lives of those who suffer with despair.

Before a person can help improve the morale of a group around them, he or she must first turn the focus inward. To seek a better self-esteem, one can borrow tips from Romayne Schwartzel’s workshop entitled, “Boosted…making yourself and everyone else feel better.” The first step is reminding one’s self of a few basic, but often ignored principles:

• Everybody does not have to love everyone.

• Everyone makes mistakes.

• Each person is responsible for his or her day.

• Everybody is capable.

• Everyone can change.

• It is impossible to control everything—and that is okay.

After reviewing these tips, it helps to write down personal short-comings. After making a small list, one can rank the shortcomings in order of importance. Then, the person can focus on the number one shortcoming. It is easier to improve overall self-esteem by focusing on bad habits one at a time, starting with the most obtru-sive problem.

Other questions for self-examination include:

• If dreams were for sale, what would you buy?

• When you think of yourself, what comes to mind?

• Do you have self-discipline? Do you give up too quickly?

Once a leader has examined his or her self-esteem tendencies, he or she is able to tackle self-esteem problems in a large group set-ting—the school. Each student in the school has the right to feel respected, valued, and needed. It is possible to attain these goals by instituting random acts of kindness. At North Penn High School, the name of each student who attends the school is placed around the building. Students feel included because they find enjoyment in seeing their name on the wall. Other high schools celebrate student birthdays by administering “shout-outs” on the morning announcements, delivering lollipops to homerooms, or providing a sheet cake for the students and staff who have celebrated their birthday that month. A red carpet can be rolled out on the first day of school to provide an interesting welcome for the student body.

These ideas are just a few of many that make students feel loved and welcomed by their school environment.

The key in building a solid school atmosphere is focusing on one’s self first and then shifting focus to the rest of the school. By bor-rowing tips from Romayne’s workshop, one can put a positive spin on the school year and create an environment where each student can look forward to attending school.

Summer Workshops Boost Self Esteem

“Every day, try to help someone who can’t reciprocate your kindness,” —John Wooden

The world’s attention will be focused on Sochi in February as the Winter Olympics get underway. Build on the excite-ment of the Olympic games by incorporating them into your winter spirit week activities. Consider some of the following ideas as you make your plans.

n Olympic rings mixer. Find or create a large picture of the Olympic rings, then draw a pattern on it to create

a jigsaw puzzle with many pieces. Duplicate the picture as many times as needed for the number of students in your school. Glue each picture onto a different colored sheet of construction paper, then cut the pictures into pieces and distribute one piece to every student in the school. Offer a prize to the first five groups to piece all the pieces together into a complete image.

n Parade of athletes. Dur-ing a pep rally, have the winter sports athletes parade in uni-form through the gym doors and around the gym while the Olympic fanfare music is playing. Have each team carry a banner that represents their team and has all the players signatures on it.

n Olympic torch maze. Have a relay race through a maze with participants carrying a pa-

per torch made to look like the Olympic torch that they pass from one person to the next.

n Mascot madness. Make copies of the Winter Olympics mascot and hide some around school. Offer prizes to those who find the hidden mascots.

n Warm fuzzy drive. Collect warm clothing items during the Olympics and donate them to a shelter in your community.

Fun with Olympic-Style Activities

PASC News • December 2013 • www.pasc.net8

S t u d e n t V o i c e & C i v i c E n g a g e m e n t Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils 16th Annual Student Summit in Harrisburg

                               

PASC is inviting Pennsylvania high schools to send four students to Harrisburg on Thursday, February 20, 2014 for a Student Summit on Personal and Organizational Advocacy. The summit will focus on these objectives:

 • What advocacy is and why it is important • How to determine what students should advocate both at a personal and organization level • How to advocate by mobilizing others in the school and community and by utilizing resources

 These students should have an awareness of and an interest in school, community, state and national issues. The selection of the four students does not need to be limited to Student Council leaders but could also include interested students from National Honor Society, class government, and your school’s Social Studies department.

 The Summit process is designed around these components:

1. Research on a local, state, or national issue of interest prior to the Summit 2. Presentation on advocacy and how it can be implemented via student organizations 3. Coaching by a team of recent college graduates who specialize in advocacy 4. Development of advocacy action plans by student participants 5. Presentation of student advocacy action plans 6. Refinement of student action plans based on feedback during presentations 7. Student participants would also be encouraged to make presentations to other student organizations in

their schools.    

The entire program will take place within the Capitol in Harrisburg. There is no cost to the students or to the faculty sponsor or parent who accompany students to Harrisburg other than the cost of lunch, which is on your own at the many options around the capitol.

        Applications  will  be  available  at  PASC.net  and  are  due  by  February  1,  2014.             As  part  of  the  application  process,  students  will  need  to  select  from  one  of  these     three       categories:  local,  state  or  national  issues.  Students  must  submit  a  brief  description  of           an  issue  that  they  feel  deserves  greater  attention  or  a  new  perspective.         This  will  serve  as  the  foundation  for  the  advocacy  plan  that  students  will  develop  at  the         Summit.  

If you have any questions about this opportunity for your high school students, please do not hesitate to email us at PASCyouthsummit@aol.com or call Nancy Brady at 610-775-0682.