Many students at Powell High School invest large amounts of time and effort into the numerous extracurricular activities offered by the school. From presidents to captains, many students have shown the ability to govern their fellow student body.

Of course being a leader has its challenges and responsibilities. Student Body President and  senior Brylee Schuler is well aware of these responsibilities.

“It’s a large responsibility to manage student council,” Schuler said. “If I’m not on top of my game and doing my part, then nothing will get done.”

The responsibility to manage the different clubs throughout PHS is a common hardship of all the leadership positions.

“You have a lot of different personalities with kids and especially high schoolers,” said speech and debate captain senior Shaelynn Theriault. “Trying to do things unified throughout the team is really difficult, like T-shirts; just creating t-shirts is difficult because kids have a lot of different wants and needs.”

National Honor Society President and senior Lucy Sullivan also shared challenges she faces with maintaining a club.

“Coordinating schedules, because you know, we’re high school students; we’re generally busy,” said Sullivan. “You [have to] deal with people whose first priority isn’t the thing you’re doing; you [have] got to make it work.”

Of course showing leadership is not just about being able to manage a team, but also being a reliable individual.

“When you’re a leader you are held responsible for stuff,” Sullivan said. “You [have to] sacrifice other things that you may not find as important in life.”

While the management aspect of the job is tedious, these students stick with the jobs because they find them fun.

“[Speech] is honestly pretty fun,” said Theriault. “I have a real passion for it, and being able to help people who also have that passion, and being able to make them the best that they can be in their own areas is really awesome.”

These positions offer a way for students to help their fellow peers, and in some cases, give back to the community.

“I think it’s really fun planning all the big events that help people and make a positive impact in our community,” Sullivan said. “Even if sometimes they don’t work.”

So what does it take to be an effective student leader?

“I think that it takes someone who genuinely cares about quality of work and the wellbeing of the student body,” Schuler said.

Added Sullivan: “[You] got to show up, figure out what needs to be done, then do it.”

So if you are looking to become the next student leader, there are just a few things to remember.

“You need to be responsible, organized and dedicated,” Theriault said.