Students from across central Kansas will soon be making the journey to Manhattan High to participate in the annual Student Council regional conference. StuCo members have plenty to do in preparation, planning everything down to the details of parking and snacks. Despite the hard work it takes to pull the event together, StuCo is looking forward to the opportunity it presents.

“One of the most important things that happens at a conference like this is really getting to meet and talk to Student Council members from other schools,” StuCo advisor Leslie Campbell said. “You can learn a lot from each other.”

MHS last hosted the regional conference in 2015 and currently expect around 300 StuCo members from central Kansas to attend this year’s conference. Set to take place Sept 17, the conference’s relatively early date allows StuCo leaders to have time to implement the things they learn at MHS at their own schools

“I think at the beginning of the year, it’s kind of hard to have a good direction of flow, so regional conference kind of gives Student Council an arrow in the right direction,” Student Body President Parker Wilson, senior, said.

MHS will host Michael Cuesta as the conference’s motivational speaker. In addition to listening to Cuesta’s presentation, visiting StuCo leaders will have time to swap ideas with each other, fostering creativity among several schools.

Orchestrating the entire event has been a group effort. StuCo members have been working on six different committees to ensure that everything will be ready the day of the regional conference. They are looking forward to seeing their hard work pay off.

“I’m really looking forward to having all different schools come because I think our student council’s really strong this year,” StuCo Treasurer senior Trinity Price said. “We’re just really prepared for this and we’ve been wanting to do this for a while.”

Even though they are hosting the event, StuCo members will still benefit from the conference. The bonds they make will give them student leaders from other schools that they can reach out to.

“I think creating relationships with other schools and just being able to really listen and learn from everyone else is important,” Wilson said.

The StuCo regional conference will provide students with the opportunity to not only work through how to host an event, but also learn how they can best work together as they prepare for the year ahead.

“Student Council is going great so far this year,” Campbell said. “We have a lot of really enthusiastic people. They are well into looking for opportunities for fundraising, which is awesome and I’m excited for the rest of the school year.”