Student council members represented ROHS at the Michigan Association of Student Councils (MASC) State Conference at the DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan from March 25th-27th. Twenty-five students from Royal Oak, accompanied by advisers, Megan McCaffery and Sean Morgan, joined student councils from all over Michigan for a weekend dedicated to student leadership.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity for our kids to learn from the presenters and keynote speakers, but more importantly, to collaborate with other schools,” said Morgan. “We have learned a lot, just in the past couple of years, from tons of other students. For example, our Charity Week is way better because we have heard what other schools are doing. Our pep rally for homecoming was really, really good, and the best one I’ve seen, and that was a direct reflection of going to States last year.”
In addition to listening to students from across Michigan share insights on leadership, Royal Oak also delivered a student showcase presentation, sharing the competition’s top award, along with two other schools.
“In previous years, we haven’t presented anything, and for us to step up and try to get involved in these competitions shows an extra step of leadership,” said presenter Thomas Romito, who was joined by fellow student council presenters, including Sarah Barnett, Katie Binkowski, and Luca Ceccacci. The group described the benefits of the ROHS Student Council Retreat and how other schools can implement a retreat at their school.
“This was my second time attending States, and it was cool to attend this time as a presenter. I think it really forced me to put more trust into my team. The first time I attended, I attended all four showcases and took notes on them, and immersed myself in that experience” said Binkowski, who serves this year as ROHS Stu-Co President.
The students made adjustments to their presentation following Regionals.
“We tried to make our presentation as engaging as possible,” said Romito. “Instead of just talking about all the reasons that we enjoyed retreat, we tried to spin it on how other schools can implement retreats for their council.”
Romito explained that delivering a presenting set a good example for students to follow in the coming years.
“We are so used to planning events, and we don’t usually present them,” he said. “By [presenting], I think it will set a precedent for underclassmen to do similar things and hopefully, continue not only planning events, but taking them to the next level and sharing them with other people at States.”
After the conference, Binkowski revealed her favorite memory,
“After our second presentation, a girl raised her hand and we called on her, and she said, ‘Actually, I didn’t have a question. I just wanted to say how great you guys are at presenting and how great this presentation was.’ Then the whole room erupted in applause and I was almost in tears. It was such a great moment, and my favorite memory from States,” Binkowski said.
The act of presenting did not stop there. Romito delivered his Michigan Student Voice Presentation titled “Embracing the Bench,” which focused on being an impactful member of a sports team without having to be the best or most skilled player.
“There are other ways to be a leader on a team, and one of the best ways is being a great teammate,” said Romito, who was grateful for the opportunity.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I was definitely nervous going into it; however, I don’t feel bad that I didn’t win because I was able to talk about something that a lot of people deal with and aren’t comfortable talking about.”
Both presentations were selected based on winning presentations at Student Council Regionals.
During the conference, Morgan was nominated for MASC Adviser of the Year.
“It is nice to know that people are appreciating us, especially when it’s coming from the students. That means the world to me, that I’m having a positive impact on the students because that’s why I’m here,” he said.
Overall, the MASC Conference had a positive impact on everyone.
“I definitely take away a lot from it, especially being younger. I am able to learn these things at an early age so I have more time to apply them later, “said sophomore Mary Coburn.
Freshman Patrick Kitchen also found the experience valuable.
“Leadership is very important when it comes to interacting with other people. It benefits the people around you and helps you become a stronger person. It has shown me what I need to do to get to the next level in student council,” he said.
“Every single event I’ve attended through student council that involved other students has made a huge impact on my life and opened me up to new perspectives and things that we can accomplish,” said Binkowski. “I think the more people we can send to States, the better leaders [we’ll have] at Royal Oak High School.”