Conference focuses on building character
Upper St. Clair’s Fort Couch Middle School was the site of the 2013 Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils (PASC) District 3 Middle Level Mini Conference. Held on Nov. 1, the conference encouraged middle level students to become a great part of its student council team. This year’s theme was “Under Construction: We are Building Character!”
The event featured keynote speaker Jackie Jaros. The middle school guidance counselor at the Deer Lakes Middle School has worked with children of all ages during her career.
In addition, Jaros has been affiliated with the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) program since 1996. She was hired as a staff counselor at the Westminster 7280 program. As the program continued to grow and develop, she was selected to become the site’s co-director.
Most recently, Jaros has taken on the duties and responsibilities as co-director of the RYLA 7300 program in the Pittsburgh area. Jaros also works with student leadership and advisors across Allegheny County and the entire state in connection with PASC. She was the district director for District 3 and is a member of the organization’s District 3 board.
Drawing on her years of experience, Jaros’s shared the message that “Today is the Day!” She told the students that each day is a new opportunity, how to best use each day, how to find and use individual strengths, and how to become a philanthropist.
Lauren O’Keeffe, an eighth grade student council representative from Ft. Couch, said she really liked Jaro’s message about today being the day to make a difference. “She inspired us with different ideas,” O’Keeffe said.
In addition to Jaro’s keynote speech, student delegates went to two workshops to help them build leadership skills, character and teamwork. Workshop topics included “Thinking Outside the Box: The Key to Creativity,” “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens,” “Swimming through Insecurities,” “Beat the Beast of Public Speaking,” “Put Me Back Together” and “ROPES Forms.”
Katie Rummel, an algebra teacher at Ft. Couch who is also the student council advisor, served as the conference chairperson. Rummel said that in addition to Fort Couch, schools attending the conference included Gateway, Ingomar, Quaker Valley, Community Day School, Pine Richland, Marshall, Dorseyville, Carson, Deer Lakes and Jefferson.
Rummel said the workshop portion of the conference was arranged so each school in attendance had a representative in each of the different workshops.
Ft. Couch student Sean Martin, seventh grade student council president, called the conference a “great experience.”
“It taught me about leadership,” he said. “It was a great way to make new friends and socialize with people that I wouldn’t have had a chance to meet.”