On Friday, November 13, members of the North Penn High School Student Government Association (SGA) attended the Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils (PASC) Conference. The conference is designed to help prepare students to lead their schools and communities in a variety of ways, such by improving their skills in communication, organization, and team building

North Penn High School took sixteen delegates, five of whom presented workshops, to the 2015 state conference. SGA member Francis Burk, was selected to receive the Dale Hawley Award, which is given to an outstanding PASC workshop delegate. Students use the program to discover new ways to bring the best out of themselves and others and to learn proven strategies for overcoming difficult situations. Out of the hundreds of attendees in the Gold Summer Workshop camp, Burk was selected for his contributions to the program and his overall character.

“When I attended the Susquehanna Gold workshop I encountered many challenges in leadership that I never encountered before. I was given the opportunity to work with a committee to develop and to help run the talent show. I was given the opportunity to lead different groups and different events. Through planning these events and participating in the different games and the different opportunities they gave us at the camp I was able to improve my leadership style and develop a much stronger and more confident character than I’ve ever had before,” said Burk.

He then shared his excitement of his recognition.

“I was very happy about receiving such an award because I’d never been recognized for such an achievement before. It felt very good to know that all of my efforts that I had put into the camp payed off in the end and were recognized by the staff and my peers,” shared Burk.

In addition, the North Penn High School was also recognized as a distinguished Keystone Council, which is the highest level of recognition which can be received from the state. The award recognizes the SGA’s overall success as a council, their contributions to the school and its community, and their involvement in PASC. North Penn’s SGA was one of few schools chosen as a distinguished council.

The SGA was also recognized as a gold national council of excellence by the National Association of Student Councils, which is the highest level which can be awarded nationally. North Penn is one of about 100 schools nationwide to receive this award and title.

To conclude its success, North Penn was selected as the region F representatives. North Penn hasn’t been represented for years. The representative sits on the state board for a term of two years with the state president along with representatives from five other regions and the adult staff. The student that will be selected to represent North Penn will be responsible for attending regular meetings, helping plan conferences, and going to nationals.

“Overall it was a very good weekend to be North Penn in the world of PASC and I’m super excited for what the future of North Penn SGA could look like and what it means for our school going forward,” said SGA Student President Katie Solomon.

The SGA strives for the betterment of North Penn and the surrounding community. Their efforts are being rightfully acknowledged by both.