Five Bow Valley High School (BVHS) students and others from Rocky View Schools’ district left for the Canadian Student Leadership Conference (CSLC) last weekend.
The conference is at West High School and Lockview High School from Sept. 22-26 in Halifax, N.S. Attending on behalf of Bow Valley are Grade 11 students Tyler Switzer, Olivia Niewchas, Hannah Steed and Sydney Karaja, and Grade 12 student Seth Schilbe.
This year’s conference is mainly intended to help students develop better leadership skills for their school, community and futures. Students will also gain more teamwork skills, come out of their comfort zones and be given advice for when they come back to their hometowns, schools and communities. Students from across the country will come together to make this conference happen and make it a great experience for all: an adventure of a lifetime!
The theme for this year’s CSLC is ‘Leadership 360,’ meaning that the experience comes to a full circle like a compass. It is guiding the students on a roundtrip to make a difference in the lives of others, as well as their own.
There will be a variety of different keynote speakers, such as Kathy Buckley, Alex Maclean (creator of East Coast Lifestyle Clothing), Lennett Anderson, Scott Jones, Mark Black and Jessica Bower. There will be a food truck rally, activity night with salsa dancing, glow-in-the-dark yoga and a game of Ultimate Frisbee with members of the Canadian team. There will also be a wide variety of workshops for the students to attend and learn from.
BVHS student Hannah Steed, who is attending the conference said, “I am nervous and excited about this experience. I know I will be challenged to push my comfort zone with both people and my learning. However, I am excited to be given an opportunity to learn by some of the best speakers who have been doing leadership way longer than me. I think that this is one of the greatest opportunities to make my high school career as memorable as possible.”
Another student attending CSLC from BVHS, Olivia Niewchas, added, “I feel really lucky to get to go out and have this experience. I’m really excited to get to spend the week getting to know new people and strengthening the friendship I have with the people I already know. I think I will get to learn a lot of new things and I’m excited to see how learning new things will play a part in my life when I’m back. I chose to attend this event because I think it will be a once in a lifetime experience that I couldn’t miss!”
Seth Schilbe said, “It feels pretty surreal to have the opportunity to attend CSLC in Halifax this year, especially considering I had the opportunity to attend it last year in Kelowna. I also feel very humbled to have the opportunity to attend such a prestigious event comprised of some of the best student leaders in the country; it’s an opportunity for me to improve my leadership skills as well as learn new ones in order to better contribute to the leadership program at Bow Valley. A bonus: I have always wanted the opportunity to travel to the East Coast. CSLC is such a fantastic opportunity to make new friends and to learn important life skills.”
BVHS’s leadership teacher, Mrs. Dorothy Karlson, added, “We will be welcomed with eastern charm and experience a much different way of living than in the west.
As in the past, I am sure it will continue to be the best in quality and the students will learn so much from other schools across Canada. In last year’s conference, Rocky View sent a bus, so there were a lot of us who knew one another, and this year Alberta will be smaller in numbers but not in heart.”
Personally, I am very excited to see and hear about this year’s conference. When I attended it in 2014 in Kelowna, it was one of the best experiences in my life, as well as my high school career. I met so many great people who I still keep in contact with, learned so many crucial skills for the future and listened to many amazing speakers/stories.
I hope that the participants of this year’s conference will have a spectacular experience and take what they learned and use it when they come back home to their community and school.
Venture on, Bobcats!
