Student Councils

The class at Oakland Mills High School was English for Speakers of Other Languages, which meant the students were accustomed to hearty doses of vocabulary. Even so, they appeared taken aback when Principal Frank Eastham laced his motivational speech with words one would scarcely associate with a school administrator: "truant officer," "welfare," "food stamps" and "learning disability. " During the 40-minute talk about his personal story, Eastham spoke of obstacles he faced while growing up impoverished in Washington, Pa., living on federal assistance, missing as many as 40 days of second grade to take care of an ailing single mother and showing such a lack of interest in school that he talked his mom into keeping him out of college preparatory classes.

...TC School Superintendent C. Berry Carter II, better watch out -- the newest member of the county's school board already wants his job."I want to be Berry Carter," said 16-year-old Desira St. Pierre, chosen yesterday as the new student representative on the school board. "Really. My ultimate goals is to be a superintendent. I care about kids and I think I can make the biggest difference as a superintendent."First, though, she wants to do work related to special education. Then, she wants to be a guidance counselor, and eventually an assistant to a superintendent.

Jodi Harmon, a junior at South River High, has been nominated to theState Board of Education. After making a presentation to the Maryland Association of Student Councils last Saturday, Harmon became the first student in the county to have her name submitted to the Gov. William Donald Schaefer for appointment.Students throughout the stateoverwhelmingly voted to support her nomination, along with a representative from Montgomery County. Schaefer will make his final appointment to the non-voting board position in July.

Three students remain in the running to be named the 2008-2009 student member of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education after a panel whittled the list from five nominees. The finalists, all juniors, are Shelby Heinecke of Annapolis High School; Collin Wojciechowski of Chesapeake High School and Jarrett Ley of Severna Park High School. The board's student member is elected by the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils and appointed by the governor. The student member serves a one-year term during his or her senior year and is one of the few in the nation with full voting rights.

Desira St. Pierre, 16, of Broadneck.School: Broadneck Senior H.S.Achievements,Interests: Desira maintains a 3.5 grade point average and is the junior class secretary.A member of the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils (C.R.A.S.C.) since her freshman year, she currently is the second vice president of that organization and serves on the Educational Liaison Committee, helping to keep lines of communication open between C.R.A.S.C and the Board of Education.She has served on numerous committees where students actively participate in curriculum issues such as the Principal's Advisory Committee, the Student Council Executive Committee, and committees dealing with weighted grading, service learning, academic eligibility and multicultural curriculum.

Howard County student government leaders have decided not to move a statewide convention from Turf Valley Hotel and Country Club despite opposition led by an Oakland Mills High School student.The Howard County Association of Student Councils, scheduled to be host for the Maryland Association of Student Councils convention in March 1991, voted 31-11 last Thursday against changing the site.The request to move the convention came after last month's cancellation of the 1991 OMHS prom at Turf Valley.

Terry Richard Gilleland, 16North County High SchoolAccomplishments/Interests: Last week, after only four years in the Boy Scouts of America, Terry Gilleland became an Eagle Scout -- a lifetime rank of achievement that he now shares with presidents, including Gerald R. Ford."

An intense, outspoken 11th-grader from Howard High School will be the next student member of the State Board of Education, the second from Howard County in four years.Gov. William Donald Schaefer chose Jamie M. Kendrick, 16, son of Larry and Barbara Kendrick of Elkridge,from two finalists selected by the Maryland Association of Student Councils. The one-year term begins July 1.Kendrick will not have voting rights on the state board. But he will have a voice, and in the nine months he has been student associate member of the county school board, Kendrick has not hesitated to speak out."

Ashish A. Bagal and Alana Murray moved through a swirl of students at the Maryland Association of Student Councils convention last weekend, shaking hands and passing out literature like veteran politicians.But neither Ashish, 17, a Hammond High School junior, nor Alana, 15, a Mount Hebron High sophomore, won the offices they sought in thestatewide student government organization. MASC conducted its annualconvention at Turf Valley Country Club last weekend, with the HowardCounty Association of Student Councils as host.

The smile on Jay Witcher's face kept spreading as the realization that he is the county school board's new student member began to sink in."Oh boy, oh boy," Witcher said. "I feel so weird. I can't believe I won."Witcher, a 16-year-old junior at Glen Burnie High School, received a majority of votes yesterday to win the student seat -- the only such position in the nation that comes with full voting rights.About 260 students representing 28 senior, middle and junior high schools participated in the election held at Northeast High School.