Lakeside High School students Millie Jane Mobley, senior, and Hudson Burch, junior, were selected to serve on the State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council for the 2022-23 school year.
Following Columbia County’s November board meeting where Mobley’s and Burch’s achievements were officially congratulated, both students recently attended their first out of four meetings with the council in Atlanta.
Both Burch and Mobley said their families encouraged them to apply for the council and were excited to receive the news of their acceptance.
“It was very exciting,” said Mobley as she expressed how honored she felt. “My grandma actually cried.”
Burch said he was surprised because the screening process was extremely selective and his parents were very proud.
“I just find it very redeeming and I want to give back to my community, so I find this to be a good outlet to do that,” he said.
From her previous experience in assisting with Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fundraising and having a younger brother in elementary school, Mobley said she wants to utilize her different experiences and knowledge to build a more well-rounded council that establishes policies which will benefit students of all ages.
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“I think meeting more people allows you to open your mind up to more things so maybe you’re more accepting to more people,” Burch added.
On the other hand, since his parents are teachers, Burch said he hopes to bring insight from a student and educator point of view in order to broaden the scope of the council.
As members of the council, each student will have the opportunity to focus on a project within the county to better their community through volunteer work and leadership.
Mobley is considering a few options, one of which might focus on establishing a program that focuses on helping eighth graders prepare for transitioning to a new school.
“I feel like middle school is a hard year because you go from elementary school and being really hands-on to then being on your own,” she said. “Eighth grade and ninth grade is a hard transition, so I feel like I can help them, and in some way guide them … to get a grasp on how high school actually is.”
Although the high school currently has a two day welcoming program for upcoming freshmen directly before the semester starts, Mobley said she would like to see a more in-depth program to truly prepare students with a long-lasting experience.
Mobley added she would also love to help implement lifestyle classes in the future that would prioritize teaching students important life skills such as balancing checks and paying taxes. She believes that accomplishing little things like lifestyle classes can lead to an improved bigger picture.
“I want kids to enjoy school,” she said. “A lot of kids don’t go to college, some people just go straight into the ‘real world’ out of high school; so I feel like if we have those skills we can have a broader reach and lessen struggles after high school. It needs to be taught on all levels so everyone can be given equal opportunities.”
Burch added that high school acts as a shell for students and pushing for lifestyle classes can help alleviate the shock factor so many experience when attempting to figure out day-to-day financial skills.
While Mobley is still deciding between a project involving the Golden Harvest Food Bank, lifestyle classes or transitioning middle schoolers, Burch said he was aiming towards promoting the school’s food pantry for students and other food drives through different sport outlets, such as the swim team’s meets.
In an upcoming swim meet on Dec 13, Burch said the county will hold a competition where all teams will compete to bring the most canned foods for the Lakeside Food Pantry. In support of the state superintendent’s focus on improving mental health in school systems, Burch said he would also like to direct his project towards raising mental health awareness.
“I asked him what he thought the bigger problems in our schools were and he talked about mental health, and I totally agree with that. I think a lot of people struggle with mental health,” he said. “I think that’s a huge issue.”
Both Mobley and Burch said they believed student guidance and advice was important because it can lead to a more inclusive and well-rounded educational journey.
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“Since we’re students, we get more affected by all the policies in the county so, if we agree, we can help guide what we like and … we’ll be more likely to follow the policies that are implicated,” said Mobley. “And we see it from all different sides. Not just from our side, but we see it from our friend’s side or other peers in our classroom.”
After the first meeting with the council, Mobley said her favorite part was meeting other students from all over the state and collaborating on different ideas and solutions. She said the meeting was surprising, because she did not expect it to be heavily conversation and collaboration based – she was shocked to find it was anything, but the typical cookie-cutter meeting.
Happily shocked, Mobley said she believes the council highlights collaboration, because it encourages students to work together and improve upon great ideas and see projects through to the end.
“I’m interested in seeing the different problems and opinions across the state of Georgia, and how that is going to help me work on my own problem solving ability,” said Burch. “Just advancing what it is to be a student.”
Both Mobley and Burch said they were excited to help further improve the educational system and impact their community in a positive manner in the next year on the state advisory council.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
