Motivation, honesty, and compassion are major qualities of strong leaders. Those are key components that students need to be effective student council leaders and future leaders for their community and the world. Laurel High School Student Council members are getting the opportunity to play a major role in the guidance of present and future student council leaders as they have received the impressive honor of hosting the 54th Annual Mississippi State Association of Student Councils’ Student Council Leadership Conference this year from March 8-9.
“This has been a goal for us to host a MSASC State Conference,” Tamia Taylor, student council advisor, said. “This is a great opportunity for our district, our students, and our community. We are so excited for this chance for our students to showcase their talents and for everyone to get to see all that our city has to offer.”
The Student Council Leadership Conference will feature impressive speakers, including master storyteller Guest Speaker Dr. Tommie Mabry and transformational speaker Adviser Guest Speaker Kendale Lumpkin. There will also be plenty of learning experiences for student council members and advisors as well as workshops led by student council members.
Senior Class Representative Taniyah Breland will be leading a workshop for elementary students and was thrilled to get the news of her position for the conference. For Breland, student council has made a tremendous impact on her life.
“Being a part of the student council and attending conferences in the past, I have learned so much,” Breland said in her graceful, well-spoken manner. “After going to several conferences, we have been educated on so many aspects of leadership, made so many friends from all over, and created some very special memories. I’ve learned so much and changed in so many ways due to being part of student council. I’ve learned the value of working hard and I’ve learned how to use my voice to be heard. It’s helped me to really come out of my shell. These have been best three years of my life.”
Laurel Student Body President Malcome Terrele agreed with Breland that being a part of student council has changed his life also. “More than anything, I have learned patience,” Terrele said with a big smile. “I’ve learned to be more open-minded and more understanding with others that might have different ideas or viewpoints. Understanding and compromise are major key lessons that I have learned from being a part of student council, and we are looking forward to bringing those lessons and other lessons on leadership to this year’s conference.”
When the announcement was made that Laurel would be hosting the 2024 MSASC Leadership conference, Taylor and student council members began the planning process early last year. The theme for this year’s conference has a special meaning for all of Laurel, tying in closely with the fame of HGTV’s highly acclaimed series “Hometown,” featuring Ben and Erin Napier.
“We wanted to build off the concept of ‘Hometown’ because of its popularity and emphasize the importance of the concept that strong guidance and support begins at home,” Taylor said. “Our theme is Leadership begins at H.O.M.E., with each letter of home standing for a quality that helps to build strong leaders. H is for honesty, O is for open-mindedness, M is for motivation, and E is for empathy.”
By building off the success that a strong foundation of leadership begins at home, the conference will feature lots of entertaining aspects as the Laurel Student Council has adopted a “Wizard of Oz” theme because there truly is no place like home as Dorothy so desperately sought to return home in the legendary film.
“We wanted to bring out our theme of leadership beginning at home while combining some fun with our education on leadership,” Taylor said. “We’ve got lots of activities that are planned that will showcase the city. We want to give everyone the true ‘Laurel experience.’”
Those activities will feature a scavenger hunt for the students throughout Laurel, including the historic district, downtown area, and other parts of the community. Students will be guided to take selfies with murals and other notable locations throughout the city.
“We are very excited that past Laurel High School student body presidents and council members will return to their alma mater to share how being a part of student council has influenced their lives,” Taylor said. “These are some very impressive individuals. They have gone on to work in the medical field and forensic sciences. Many of them have become lawyers and doctors and have even gone on to hold high offices in businesses, industries, and politics. They really valued their time as a part of student council and took those lessons of leadership to heart to achieve great things. We are excited about them coming back to share their experiences with our students.”
“I am ecstatic to be a part of the history of the high school, of Laurel, and the community during this very exciting time,” Laurel High School Eric Boone said. “Everyone is getting a chance to see that Laurel is headed in the right direction and doing great things. This is the perfect opportunity for the Laurel School District to showcase the talents of all our students.”
The accomplished Student Body President Malcome Terrale, with a knowledge and distinguished presence well beyond his years, will open the conference and is well prepared for the upcoming event. “We’ve been planning for quite a while to ensure that everyone has the best experience possible and help them gain even greater insight into what it takes to be a strong leader,” Terrale said. “We’ll be hosting different types of workshops on strong communication skills and engaging with all parts of the community.”
This conference is an excellent opportunity for greater exposure on the amazing aspects of the Laurel School District and the community, and Terrale feels this is the perfect chance for “more eyes to find out the tea on what Laurel is really all about.”
“This is such an excellent chance for everyone to see that we are a small city with a lot of love,” Terrale said. “We are a tight-knit community that works together to help one another out, and I think that type of environment helps to build strong, compassionate leaders. We hope to educate and instill those leadership qualities that it takes to be a formidable, effective leader.”
For years, Laurel High School has garnered great attention for its athletic achievements, but Boone feels that this conference will give everyone the chance to shine and for the spotlight to be put on all the talents Laurel has to offer.
“At Laurel, we’re known for our success on the football field, the basketball court, and other sports, but this will give more public attention to all our talented students,” Boone said. “From academics, to the arts, to music, and every aspect of the school, Laurel High School and the Laurel School District have so many brilliant individuals that will receive the spotlight through the conference. This has truly been a community effort to get this event ready with a great deal of support from local businesses and organizations.”
Community spirit will be the key theme of the conference as everyone is welcome. This will be an incredible economic boom for the city. Local businesses, restaurants, hotels, and the county should receive a prosperous impact and benefit from the influx of attendance to the conference.
“This is an excellent time for our city, local schools, and the Pine Belt as a whole to shine,” Boone said. “We invite all the families, students, and school officials to explore our beautiful town and see what we have to offer, and they just might find that they love it so much they might want to return and experience more of our small-town charm.”
The 54th Annual State Conference will begin Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 8:30 a.m., continuing until 3:30 p.m. at Laurel High School, located at 1100 West 12th Street in Laurel. The Conference Community Service Project is Secret Meal Packaging. There will be a Pre-Conference Mixer on Friday, March 8, 2024, beginning at 6:00 p.m., in Downtown Laurel.
“We invite all MSASC membership schools and interested students to join us in beautiful, historic downtown Laurel,” Taylor said. “They will have a great time competing in a scavenger hunt, dancing to music with our town’s favorite DJ, and enjoying local cuisine presented by area food trucks. Everyone can expect to have a great time, make lots of new friends, and create some special memories that will last a lifetime.”
For more information on the conference and registration, click here.