On the weekend of Nov. 5-6 , representatives of Student Council from both Cathedral Prep and Villa Maria Academy attended an annual Pennsylvania State Conference (PASC). However due to COVID-19, there was no conference in 2019 and last year, in 2020, it was held online. Therefore, this makes the 2021 PASC the first in-person conference since 2018.

“I wasn’t at one since my freshman year, so I was really excited for it,” said the senior-class president, Andrew Kolodychak.

This state conference was meant to turn members of student councils around Pennsylvania into better leaders. Workshops were held to improve communication with people and spread ideas about how to help their respective schools.

One workshop was set to improve communication between the leaders and the student body. One specific idea was being able to spread the word of Student Council. A senior from Cathedral Prep, Jake Walden, was credited with the interesting idea of using the most recent forms of social media such as TikTok. Jake created a TikTok and was able to create a video to support the student council within five minutes.

“It was just a random thought; I didn’t think much of it,” said Jake. “Improving the ability to get the rest of the student body involved is a goal of mine.”

Another workshop was about diversity within schools. During the workshop, there were activities in which students would be able to express themselves and then see what other schools do to feel cultures feel more accepted. Dayonna Swanson, a senior from Villa mentioned, “I felt connections during this workshop because I was able to express who I was and relate it to other people.” 

Along with these workshops, the students also had opportunity to listen to guest speakers who have found themselves in leadership positions. The speakers gave advice on how to improve leadership skills and how to use strengths and weaknesses as an advantage. A question for guest speaker, Lori Hayes, was on what to do when something doesn’t go the right way. Her response was, “We’re gonna be alright, let’s get it, and let’s go.”  

Overall, the weekend was successful and students from both campuses felt as though they got a lot out of it.

“This weekend has taught me a lot about how to lead others and not be a follower,” said junior Will McBrier.

Another student, Delaney Nystrom, a senior at Villa mentioned, “The PASC has been a thing for a while. My mom attended one years ago. I’m just glad I could experience the same thing she did.”