Youth Leaders Gather in Wolf Point

On Tuesday, March 5, several schools representing District V were invited to attend the Montana Association of Student Councils (MASC) meeting. Mary Zuchowski, the current District V Advisor from Frazer, elected to hold the meeting in Wolf Point. Essentially an opportunity to network with other student councils from around the state, the meeting allows youth leaders to share projects and ideas viable for implementation as well as to vote for District Officers. Three student leaders from Chinook High School (CHS) won positions with the District and will serve in the coming year.

Dentin DePriest, a junior at CHS who currently serves as the school's Student Council Parliamentarian, ran for and won his office as District V President. As President-elect, DePriest will attend two in-person Executive Board meetings, present a workshop at the State Conference in the fall-which this fall will be in Billings-and write a resolution for the business sessions at the state convention.

Although DePriest was motivated to apply for the position after receiving encouragement from Mrs. Fay Friede, the CHS Student Council Advisor, his main reasons for running were the future benefits. "Holding this position will definitely look great on resumés and college applications," he stated.

DePriest went on to say, "I was a bit surprised when the results were in. Prior to the meeting, I thought there would be a lot more nominees than there were, and I actually wasn't expecting to be elected. But it was a pleasant surprise, even with all of my new responsibilities. It will be a productive and worthwhile experience for sure."

DePriest's goals for the office are "to make this year's State Student Council Conference a ton of fun and to represent my District positively. It will be a lot of work, but I'll become a much better leader because of it."

Likewise, Bailey Billmayer, who is Sophomore Class President and serves on the Student Council in that role, applied for and was elected to the position of Secretary. In her role, she will record minutes of any meetings and support the President in his duties. On the topic of her motivation to seek this office, she responded: "Such a position will look good on scholarship applications and my resumé. I also like to stay busy and active in the school and community."

Prior to attending the meeting, both DePriest and Billmayer were required to submit a petition indicating their intentions to run for office. Another junior at CHS, Brockton Elliot, who is Student Council Treasurer, threw his hat into the race for Vice President and won the vote.

About his election, Elliot claimed, "I decided to run for the Vice President position after Dentin and Bailey won their spots. During the meeting, everyone voted for what President/Secretary combo they wanted. They then announced the results. Winning the position made me feel great; I am very excited to be on District 5 Student Council."

A fourth Chinook student, Walter Schoen attended Tuesday's event in the role of spectator. Schoen serves on the CHS Student Council as Freshmen Class President.

As a community building and get-to-know one another exercise, the group played a Jenga-styled game in which the blocks were printed with questions such as: What are your favorite hobbies, foods, or seasons. Once pulled, each block's question was answered and the block added to the tower's top, creating a progressively more unstable structure if players weren't strategic.

"Those starter questions led to follow up questions like 'What is your favorite part about spring,' for example. It was really fun and I met some really cool people," Billmayer stated.

Another purpose of Tuesday's meeting was to nominate high school and middle school advisors of the year, as well as school administrators eligible for recognition as Administrator of the Year. Such awards are meant to honor mentors who provide exceptional support and commitment to the student council and to student activities in their respective schools. Additionally, these individuals value student voice and participation and support the development of student leaders.

According to Friede, the state is divided into six districts, and officers represent each of those districts. Thirty-two northeastern communities comprise District V. The president of each district applies for a position on the State Executive Board of MASC. These duties include Chair of the Executive Committee, Chair of Media Promotions, Chair of Awards, Chair of the National Conference, Ambassador, and Communications Director. There is also an opportunity for an at-large student to apply to serve on the Montana Board of Public Education.

Over the years, Friede has twice served as the District V Advisor, and two past CHS students have previously served as District V Presidents who held positions on the MASC Executive Board.

Friede went on to explain: "There are regularly-scheduled Zoom meetings in the fall leading up to the state conference, as the board is instrumental in helping the conference site host plan and lead the conference. It's a fantastic leadership experience for those students on the MASC Executive Board, and the State Student Council Conferences typically bring in nationally-recognized speakers. Those attending the 2023 Conference held in Helena this past October included Dentin DePriest, Bailey Billmayer, Quentin Edwards, Brockton Elliot, and Walter Schoen."

MASC is an organization whose mission is to offer support to student councils in Montana and to provide educational leadership training opportunities for member schools, their students, and advisors. In addition, the CHS Student Council donates to Montana Make a Wish each year at the state convention. In 2019, they earned status as top contributor.