While some kids used their weekend to catch up on sleep and Netflix series, others used the free time to improve their leadership abilities. Ten students, along with many students from other schools across the state, attended Lakeview, a leadership camp hosted by the Texas Association of Student Councils.

At the camp, students participated in different activities that pushed them out of their comfort zone to help them learn things about themselves and promote leadership. One of the crowd favorites was called the inner circle activity.

“In this activity, [all the students at the camp] were in this huge circle and you would step forward if certain questions applied to you,” junior Hannah Hayes said. “They were very personal questions that made everyone feel raw from emotion. I almost started crying by the end of it.”

Each year at Lakeview a speaker comes to talk the students who attend the camp about ways to better their schools and student councils.

“This year the speaker was the guy from the Evolution of Dance, and he focused on the importance of communication,” junior Tucker Douglass said. “He talked about how it’s more about how you put yourself out there and less about the actual words you say. He was really good, plus I learned how to dougie.”

Junior Ricky Cooks currently serves as the TASC Vice President, as well as the junior class president at Texas High. Instead of being a camper along with fellow students, he had the privilege of being a junior counselor.

“I enjoyed Lakeview more last year as a camper, but only because I was able to be a part of the activities versus telling other campers what to do,” Cooks said. “The activities we do teach students leadership skills through team bonding. I got really close to my group during boundary breakers and to me, that’s the most important part.”

Campers were forced to meet new people by being put in groups in which they were not familiar with anyone.

“The inner circle activity was at the end of the first night, and it took away some of the awkwardness of meeting a group of strangers since we all saw a very personal side to each other,” Hayes said. “Overall, it wasn’t that uncomfortable being in groups because we were all there for the same purpose; to learn new aspects about Student Council and have a good time.”

The leadership camp proved to be an eye-opening experience for some of the underclassmen who attended as well.  
“Being a sophomore and still having two more years of high school after this, Lakeview really made me realize the importance of being a leader in school in the time I have left,” sophomore Matt Prieskorn said. “I realized how fun StuCo can be, and camp showed me how blessed I am to be a part of a Student Council like Texas High’s.”