During the winter, things start to get slow for Student Council. We had football homecoming and our next homecoming isn’t for another few weeks. Everyone gets sluggish, but MASC has just the thing for Student Council members. Each year they hold a Winter Energizer. It’s a weekend retreat for Student Council members to re-energize and get ready for the rest of the school year. This was my first year attending Winter Energizer and it was an amazing experience. Winter Energizer is held at Windermere Lodge in Roach Missouri each year. MASC rents out the lodges for a weekend for all of the Student Council members. Members from all around Missouri come to attend this event. This year’s theme was all about leading by example. In Student Council we often think about what we can change to make our council better. We go through a lot of ideas of what we can change but sometimes we need to look at ourselves instead of our council. Our challenge for the weekend was to really focus on ourselves instead of the council as a whole. Leaders often get caught up in the group as a whole instead of the individuals in it. We focused on our core values and what qualities of leadership we cherish the most.

We had many activities and speeches given by our advisors about how we can become better leaders by leading by example. From seven o’clock in the morning to almost eleven o’clock at night we did nothing but fun and critical thinking activities. It was refreshing being around so many people that are just as passionate about Student Council as I am. I met some amazing people at Winter Energizer. They all had such lively personalities and they were all amazing leaders. It was great to be able to talk to so many different people around Missouri because everyone does things different and it’s great to get some new ideas for my own council. Overall Winter Energizer was incredible.

From what little time I spent there I’ve made some fantastic friends. I have looked at myself as a leader and know what I can do better. MASC helps student succeed not just in school but in life. I know myself and many other are beyond grateful for what MASC does for all of us.