Student Advisory Board takes in its first new members since September 2019
Current SAB members
December 13, 2021
Due to being online for the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, Student Advisory Board was unfortunately unable to take in any new members. So, with the 2021-2022 school year just starting, the supervisor of SAB and IB coordinator, Mr. Christopher Layson, and SAB had to do twice the amount of selection work. This year, 12 students would need to be selected to get SAB back to the correct number of members. Though it took a lot of deliberation, 12 students were selected on September 24th.
Recently, SAB held their first meeting with all members since the school closed in March of 2020.
“I felt really excited because I heard a lot of people talk about it,” freshman Cydney Mayberry said. “It made me feel like I made an impact even though I’ve been here for a couple weeks.”
Newly brought in sophomore Gabriella Stys said, “So far, I really like the environment of the meeting. It just feels like a really good space with really good people. You could say something and not be judged and everyone’s ideas can be heard.”
Though these students have just started their SAB journey, they have a lot of work ahead of them. With Olympics, middle school recruitment, and much more to plan, this special group of students have a lot on their plate.
“I’m kinda excited to plan Olympics,” Stys said. “I think it would be fun to plan it and watch everyone once Olympics come around.”
Julie Syler, president of SAB said, “I am very excited to have new people, because with the pandemic we didn’t bring in sophomores, so the board has been small. So it’s exciting to have more people to work with.”
She also notes that “All of the new members are excited and enthusiastic, which brings a lot of new energy to our group.”
Even though the members of Student Advisory Board may have differing opinions on the way events can be led and run, they all have one thing in common: the desire to make a difference.
“I’m excited to meet new people and make an impact,” said Mayberry. “I’m excited to see what I can contribute to a group of people and the program.”
Out of all the student groups within UAIS, there is none held up on quite as high a pedestal as Student Advisory Board, or SAB. In the past, at the start of each school year, six students would be chosen from the freshman class to join the 18 other students chosen from years past. Unlike most UAIS clubs where a student gets to join simply by signing up or applying, SAB members are selected in a very different way. In the first few weeks of school, freshman teachers take extra care in observing the incoming class. They consider the student’s participation in class, interactions with fellow students, and engagement with the environment. After a little while Mr. Layson will ask the staff who they think should be the newest members of one of the most respected groups in the school.
SAB has been running mostly efficiently being 12 members down since the seniors left in May of 2020, so it will be great to seen how SAB can run now with a full group of talented students.
