Truman hosts state student council conference

It has been an interesting few months for the Truman High School Student Council.

Last spring, the 100-member group was elected as president of the Missouri Association of Student Councils. One of the largest responsibilities of holding that position is planning and hosting the association’s annual state conference. The three-day conference, which ends Saturday, brings more than 800 student leaders and advisers from throughout the state.

“It has been interesting. A lot of running around,” said Adam Diveley, a senior at Truman. “This is big for not only our school, but the community. It is a great opportunity to network and make a lot of contacts, which is a good lesson for us to learn.”

What makes this event even more special is that it is the first time in the history of Truman High School that the student council has hosted the event. It is also the first time in almost 20 years that it has been held on the western side of the state.

“We wanted to host the state conference to showcase what an amazing community we have here in Independence,” said Angie Zarillo, the student council sponsor at Truman. “The community has really supported us, and the school district has also been a huge asset. They (the school district) have been amazing in all of the planning process. It is beyond incredible what they have done for us.”

The three-day conference, which has the theme of “MASC, The Greatest Show on Earth,” features guest speakers, entertainment and break-out sessions that are geared toward helping students improve their leadership skills. Each day had its own theme – Thursday was “Welcome to the Bigtop,” Friday was “Walk the High Wire of Leadership” and today, the final day of the conference, is “Be a Ringleader.” During Thursday night’s opening ceremony, held under the “big top” in the Truman High School gymnasium, there was a special performance from the Marching Cobras, clowns and balloon artists and visits from the mascots of the Kansas City Royals and the Missouri Mavericks.

Among the many speakers to encourage and motivate the students during the conference were Eddie Slowikowski, Paul LeVota, Jeff Ross, with Relay for Life and Derek Weber, a former Student Council member and now entrepreneur in the St. Louis area. There were also opportunities to go sight-seeing in Independence along with a dance and banquet.

Delaney Kramer, a senior at Truman, said her goal was to make this year’s conference an exciting experience for all of the student participants.

“I was able to go to the conference last year, and it was awesome,” she said. “I wanted Truman to host it this year, so that even more people here at the high school could experience what I got to experience. I hope everyone has enjoyed it and really had a good time.”

One of the biggest challenges in hosting the state conference is finding lodging for all of the students and advisers. Zarillo said to accomplish that, 300 to 400 host families had to be found.

“The logistics of finding enough families to house the students is one of the most difficult parts,” she said. “But Independence has been amazing. We had so many people volunteer that we actually had extra host families. It was wonderful.”

Maddy Rowlette, a junior at Truman High School, said she has enjoyed getting other people involved, including those from the community and from Truman High School. She said as a student council, they have really made an effort to branch out beyond the high school to make an impact on the community as a whole.

“At first, I don’t think the idea of hosting the conference was very welcomed, but everyone has become so supportive of what we are doing,” she said. “We have shown everyone that if you work together, you can accomplish anything you want to do.”

Diveley said looking at the work they have done to prepare, including covering every inch of the high school’s walls with floor to ceiling murals, leaves him speechless.

“To know what it looked like a few days ago, it is pretty amazing,” he said. “Everything we do, we try to benefit the school and the community. It is important to us for our school to be behind what we do, and I think we have done that.”

The MASC conference will wrap-up Saturday with closing ceremonies and the presentation of awards. Zarillo said she believes the conference is a success and really showed what Truman and Independence has to offer.

“It is unbelievable the outpouring if support we have had. That kind of dedication is so awesome,” she said. “The goal of this conference is for students to learn new leadership skills that they can take back to their homes and schools. I think we have done just that with this conference.”