When I came to LHS my sophomore year, I aspired to get involved in as many activities as I could. From continuing my running career with the cross country team to being part of a Collision group, I participated in a lot. One of the choices I made was to run for Student Council, and I could never be more content with that decision.

The fear of failure was always on my mind. I worried that I would not make it on; that I would not be good enough; that there would be severe loss. Although these fears are very real and very scary, they are only momentary. As emerging success-stories, the best that we as high school students can do is to take every opportunity available.

Student Council offers a platform to represent your classmates; it is a place where the voice of the student body is heard. This is one of the greatest honors that our school can bestow among its students, and honor should be something that every student strives to gain.

It can be easy as a council member to solely represent the people that we see on a day-to-day basis. To avoid a culture where only the popular students are represented in the school, we need to have a diverse student representation. This means we need kids on Student Council who are part of many activities and love the people who participate with them.

One should run for Student Council because it gives a greater sense of responsibility and ownership for the things that are said and done. Student Council holds its members accountable for their actions, and encourages them to make positive advances in the community.

On Student Council, one gets to participate in many activities. It is broken into three different committees to help better serve the school and community; student services, dance committee and community services. When a student wins the election, they are randomly placed in a committee with hopes of better serving the school.

The student service committee is headed by Lily Hiatt. They tend to work on the activities that affect the school directly, like the jersey auctioning, candy cane sales and other fundraisers for LHS.

The community service committee is headed by Ann Madson, and that committee leads Student Council in activities that directly benefit the community. These activities include serving at the banquet, helping at the human society and tying blankets at project warm-up.

Finally, the dance committee is lead by Chloe Crissman. This committee organizes winter formal, Homecoming night and the Mr. LHS pageant. The dance committee works on the really big activities and events that are most noted in our school.

Altogether, the opportunities in Student Council are bountiful and offer a chance to have a lot of fun. It helps the community, school and students have a good time. Running for Student Council teaches you to love others above yourself, and helps you have a greater understanding of what it means to serve.

I believe that this school is a small sample of Sioux Falls altogether. The thoughts and beliefs that roam the halls of LHS represent the larger beliefs of the city. When you represent your classmates, in a small way you represent the entirety of Sioux Falls. If you are one who wants to make a difference in your city, Student Council is the place for you.