Inspiration is all around us. Inspiration is the influence of other’s perspectives on our ideas and inspiration was on display this past weekend at the Michigan Associations of Student Councils and Honor Societies (MASC/MAHS) State conference. Members of student council presented showcases, participated in Michigan Student Voice, and discussed some of the events our school holds.
“Everyone on stuco was invited to participate; it didn’t matter if you were an officer, a member or a representative, so anyone could go if they wanted,” said senior Jenny Yin, vice president of the student council executive board.
“Out of all the different presentations that people see at regionals, each school has to pick one that they like the most, and I believe it was the top four from each region that got to present at states which had the same format. So all the student council members were split up into different rooms and then they would listen to two presentations and schools would choose their top three presentations,” Yin said.
Novi had two showcase presentations and one presenter for the Michigan Student Voice competition, where students are given the opportunity to share their stories and spread awareness on topics that are important to them.
Senior Hannah Jeong and Yin attended the state competition in 2023, and this year, they went back to present Wish Week and Rivals Week.
Photo courtesy of Giselle Kahlife
“Me and Shrinitha Balraj and two students from Northville did a combined presentation about Rivals’ Week, which is kind of like football rivalry but between student councils. Our presentation consisted of our organization factors, how we cooperated and how we worked between two schools. It felt really good when we were one of the three presentations chosen because we worked really hard and it meant people really liked how we presented,” said Jeong, secretary of the student council executive board.
The Wish Week presenters were seniors Priya Iyer, Milan Thurman, Yin, and junior Haritha Akella.
“We talked about the formatting of Wish Week and the background details of what goes into planning because Student Council States is really about trying to show others the way your school does things and some of the tips and tricks to help other schools put on similar events. I think even though Wish Week’s presentation didn’t win, we were still able to share our experiences and be a source of inspiration to other schools and that’s really what’s important,” Yin said.
Additionally, the competitor for the Michigan Student Voice competition spoke on her experiences.
“This year’s topic for MSV was how to overcome obstacles and there were eight different kids who got selected for regionals who presented at states and I was one of them,” junior Kareena Ashok, student council representative said. “The idea of being able to create an impact and being able to hear from other students and leaders about their stories made me also want to inspire others with my story. I chose to speak about grades which was a lot different because a lot of other students talked about something more personal that happened to them and while my grades were still personal to me, I felt it was a topic a lot more students could relate to.”
“When I won regionals I was truly shocked because I never assumed I would win because a lot of the other presenters and stories were also very good,” Ashok said.“I decided I will participate again next year just because it will be my last year and I would love it if more people from Novi did it too so I would be able to guide them through the process and obviously if anybody from Novi wins that’s a win from us all.”
