Leadership and Diversity Conference

            Leadership and Diversity’s Conference

Written by Jewel Dickerman 

On December 6 at 7:30 am, Ty Lounsbury, Tati Campbell-Algermon, Namara Palmer, Madeline Struble, Joshua Katz, Izael Rodriguez, Amiyah Wells, Jaxx Rotolo, Jewel Dickerman, Dr. Cara-Jean Dougherty, and Señora Ana Espinosa-Beckworth made their way to Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Pocono Summit to speak at the Pennsylvania School Counselor Annual Conference, Equity Summit: Building Belonging through Equity. After a forty-five-minute journey the students arrived and they grabbed their name tags. After that, everyone got breakfast. 

After breakfast, at 9:00 am, everyone went into Salon A with all of the other school counselors and heard Nikole Hollins-Sims speak about building belonging throughout schools. Once Mrs. Hollins-Sims finished speaking at 10:15, there was a fifteen-minute break. Once that break finished at 10:30, the Leadership and Diversity group split in half. Half of the students went to Salon A to hear Sharon Ward and Ashli Giles-Perkins speak about the specific legal rights of students of color, LGBTQ+ students, and students with intersecting identities. The other group of students went to Ironwood to hear Dr. Jennifer Kirk, Angel Gravely, and Shannon Dressler speak about building a culture of belonging for the LGBTQ+ community. When the two speakers finished at 11:15, there was another fifteen-minute break. After that break at 11:30, it was Leadership and Diversity’s turn to speak about all the work that they have accomplished, and what they plan to do in the future. Once the group finished their presentation, they took questions from all of the school counselors who listened to the students. 

Following the question-and-answer session, WAHS Leadership and Diversity were presented with a $1,500 check, then, it was time to eat some lunch at 12:15! Once everyone was done with lunch at 1:15, there were three more guest speakers that everyone could listen to. There was Stephen Sharp and Amber Sessoms who spoke about Black Youth Suicide Prevention, which was in Salon A. There was Dr. Shileste Overton Morris who spoke about engaging in courageous conversations and this occurred in Aloeswood. There was even a MEGA PANEL where everyone was encouraged to ask questions, and this happened in Ironwood. Then everyone got to take another fifteen-minute break at 2:00. At 2:15, there were three more guest speakers that everyone could hear. There was Krystal Tiedeman who spoke about school counselors and librarians, and this was in Ironwood. In Salon A, the people got to talk about Supreme Court cases that had an impact on students. In Aloeswood, Adam Hosey spoke about the importance of values-based community building. At 3:00, everyone had their final fifteen-minute break before the last speech. Once 3:15 hit, in Salon A there was a legislative discussion that was relevant to the youth in school. To end their spectacular day, Dr. Dougherty got everyone chocolate bars. Congratulations to Leadership and Diversity for representing Wallenpaupack Area School District so beautifully!