By: Laurie O’Brien
An assembly honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. may have been delayed a week due to the weather, but the message was a timeless one, and the “when” was of little consequence, so last Friday the students at Capital High School were asked the question, “What’s YOUR dream?” Using Dr. King’s most famous speech as a catalyst, the Capital High School Associated Student Body (ASB) officers dared their fellow students to challenge the notion of what is possible in their own lives and in their own lifetimes.
After viewing a video about acceptance and hearing a dramatic reading of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, students were invited, class by class, to come forward and share their personal dreams on a poster that will be hung at the school. The written responses were as varied and diverse as the student body.
This interactive approach was the brain child of the ASB. The student lead organization wanted to make sure the assembly was relatable to students, and they planned it as such. Capital ASB president, Tyler Wu, and the rest of the Leadership Classes were responsible for coordinating all the details of the assembly. From deciding the theme, to creating the script and running the sound, the students were in charge.
As president of the ASB, Wu not only presides over weekly 7 a.m. student council meetings, but he and the other ASB executives are also enrolled in Angel Elam’s Leadership class. Elam is the Activities director for Capital and also teaches various business related classes. She explained the role of the group, “The student council group is kind of the brains of things. They make the decisions on what dances we’re going to have, etc. They’re kind of our steering committee. (The) Leadership class is the action group that puts all the plans into action.”
Freya Jamison is the Communications Director for the ASB. She explained that the their job is to serve as the link between the students and adult administrators. “We’re kind of reflecting what the students want to see in the school through projects that we create and follow through with.” Leadership spearheads class fundraisers, assemblies, dances, and other all-school projects like blood drives and food collection for the Thurston County Food Bank.
Wu, Jamison, and Eleanor Hall Watson, who serves as ASB Vice President, act as the executive committee for the group. All three see the value in being involved in Leadership. As Wu says, “I love being a part of leadership because you can make a difference.” For all three, it’s about having a voice. Although they might not be able to make curriculum decisions, all students want to help set the tone and establish an identity for their school. Leadership gives them that opportunity.
Watson knows that most students have ideas that would make for a better school environment, but working in isolation is never easy. “It’s kind of difficult, I think, when you’re just a student, to like stand up and ‘do’ a project. But when you’re in a position where you have all these resources and people to talk to and friends that you can talk to and the resources to get things going… It makes it that much easier to say ‘Okay, this needs to be done, let’s go do it. Let’s just go do it.'”
Having a supportive administration is key, too. “I think it’s really easy for a group of administrators or adults to be able to just say, ‘Okay this is our school. We’re in charge. This is what needs to be done. We’re gonna do it like this,” says Jamison. She knows it’s easy for communication to get lost between the adults in charge and the student body, “Having a leadership group that’s strong and having an ASB that’s strong is vital for the students to feel like they’re included in the decisions…For us, being able to be here and be a part of that decision making process, it’s the bridge between the students and the staff. And it just kind of helps us all work together so that everyone ends up happy. Everyone sees what they want done and everyone understands the other point of view.”
She and her fellow executive officers are quick to note that Capital’s administration is very supportive of the work the ASB does. “They’re really into making sure we’re on the same page. We met with them before the school year started and kind of talked about their goals and our goals and there’s a lot of parallels.”
Leadership classes at Capital are considered part of the career and technical education track. Students learn real world skills that will transfer to college and the business world. Mrs. Elam knows that many of the students enrolled in her classes have dreams that stretch well beyond high school. “These kids could go out right now and be business people. They could be event planners. And they will be one day. These kids learn how to plan an event from top to bottom, how to talk to adults, how to make phone calls with business people in the area. They do it every day.”
But for now, it’s about encouraging their peers to dream. And dream big.
