After traveling almost five hours last Thursday to Western Pennsylvania, the North Penn High School  SGA arrived at Deer Lakes High School for the three-day PASC state conference. This was a conference on leadership for SGAs of schools all around the state, and some schools also brought their linked leaders.

When the members first arrived they played games and hung out to get to know the other kids and meet up with friends from PASC. They were involved in chants and other icebreaker activities.

“The other days were filled with wonderful workshops, guest speakers that talked about leadership skills, and how we can become better leaders, and a fair honoring our veterans,” said SGA president, Jeremy Prince.

Although some members of NPHS’s SGA had already attended the conference several times before, they explained that each year presents them with something new to learn.

“Although I have attended this several times, I always learn something new, and overall, I learned how to strengthen my leadership abilities. One new thing I learned was how to get our school more involved and active. I learned this through one of my two workshops called ‘Lean on Me,’” said sophomore, Simran Rathod.

“This will be my 4th year attending the state conference, but I have fun and learn something new every year,” explained junior Krisha Patel. “I did a statement on this one person. The statement was to write a goal and then say, ‘I will do this, because I said so.’ It was a movement the speaker started after his dad died. He wanted to show people that his dad had a great life, and even though his dad was sick, he always kept a positive attitude and accomplished his goals. He says he wants to remember his dad like this ‘because I said so’. I thought that workshop was very different and interesting.”

Because this is Prince’s first year involved with SGA, and he’s a senior, the 2016 PASC state conference was his first and last time experiencing it as a student from NPHS.

“This is my first and last year, because I am a senior at the high school, and I learned a lot. I learned how to lead according to my team’s strengths while I’m at a leadership position, how to be a more effective leader when it comes to difficulty, how to avoid and handle stress, and how to embrace the challenges as a delegate and leader,” said Prince.

Along with the learning experience for the SGA members this was also a great social experience with each other and other students around the state. The weekend ended with a banquet and dance, which really gave the members a chance to bond with everyone.

“I feel like I got so much closer with my friends from the camps that I missed so much, and even my friends from our own school,” said Patel.

“All of the kids were energetic and excited. Most people were getting involved and encouraging others to participate as well; however, some held back a little, because they didn’t know the saying ‘It’s weird not to be weird at PASC.’ As the days went by I made new friends and had a great time,” said Rathod.

Because of the encouraging, exciting atmosphere that is cultivated at the conference, students are exposed to one another’s ideas and insights. Truly enjoying the conference, Prince explained that he was inspired by the great character and integrity exemplified by fellow attendees.

“All of them were amazing individuals, especially the kids from Erie. I so very much enjoyed this experience, because it was amazing and incredibly fun. I’m glad I got to attend such a wonderful trip and have a wonderful experience. I encourage everyone to get involved in this, because there are so many opportunities we just miss,” said Prince.