Carlmont’s ASB offers not only many opportunities to become involved in Carlmont’s community, but the course also teaches students many skills that can be applied outside of school.
ASB has many responsibilities in the Carlmont community including organizing dances, assemblies, and other events. Through the experience of maintaining these events, ASB students can learn leadership skills that can be beneficial to them in other aspects of life as well.
“[I’ve learned] to lead in a different way […] such as cooperating,” said junior class president James Pak.
ASB officers collaborate amongst themselves in order to organize events for Carlmont students. ASB is divided into various committees that work together. With this form of organization, ASB teaches its officers to work together and lead more cooperatively.
“One of the most important things Mr. Kelly taught me was that one of the best things to do to make things better is to smile,” said Pak.
ASB officers hold very public roles on the Carlmont campus. From managing the selling of dance tickets to being the host of one of the annual assemblies, ASB’s students must adopt a positive attitude. Maintaining a positive attitude is especially important in both work and one’s social life as negativity can cause conflict.
While ASB teaches many skills some students feel that they still have some skills to better learn.
“My weakness is public speaking, there are lots of opportunities to learn that here,” said Pak.
ASB’s true strength in teaching students social skills lies in providing its students with opportunities to teach themselves these skills. Being in ASB may not guarantee that one will walk away being a more leader-like person, but the course does give many opportunities where one can make themselves that kind of person.
“A lot of other classes aren’t hands on, [in ASB] you get to work on your leadership skills,” said sophomore Timmy Miller.
The ASB classroom is majorly free of desks that are found in a traditional classroom. Upon visiting the ASB class when in session one can find people working on various projects rather than listening to a teacher lecture.
Traits associated with leadership are important for life in general, even after high school, and ASB is a place where students can learn these skills to help further their goals.
