Council Corner
NSHSS Student Council members are college students who offer advice to high school students and are invited to participate in members events. Serving on the Council can provide a great leadership opportunity. NSHSS members who are graduating from high school in 2008 are eligible to apply for the Student Council next year. Applications will be posted in the Spring of 2008. Meet the 2007-08 Student Council Members.
Where in the World is Student Council Member Santi Wong?
In St. Louis, Missouri! The Gateway to the West & The Gateway to My Success
Santi Wong
National Scholar Award Recipient
Fordham University
Most students fall into the category of being an inactive member of their college community after their freshman year. The trend seems to be that students are very active during their high school years to meet the expectations of the college admissions process, but once they get into a college of their choice, the enthusiasm starts to subside. Students are usually reenergized during their freshmen year of college with mandatory freshman seminar classes, or interdisciplinary courses, or orientation galas, or leadership retreats. But what happens after freshmen year? The motivated ones stay motivated and the potentially active students start to lose their “potential energy.”
Santi Wong with Fordham University CAB Executive Board in St. Louis
Since this wave is contagious around most college campuses, I was afraid of being part of the stereotypical “sophomore slump.” I made it my mission not to allow public opinion to dominate my ambitions of being a well-rounded student on campus. I joined one of the biggest programming boards on Fordham University’s campus, called CAB. CAB stands for Campus Activities Board. The executive board members of CAB are in charge of coordinating and organizing concerts, comedy shows, weekly movie nights, lectures, coffee house programs, cultural excursions to New York City, and weekend activities for the student body. Most universities in the U.S have a club that is similar to Fordham University’s CAB.
One advantage of joining such a group as CAB is attending an annual conference. This year over 100 schools had congregated in St. Louis, Missouri, to participate in the annual CAB convention called NACA (National Association for Campus Activities). Performers and their agents set up booths in the Marketplace to make their usual sales pitches so you, as a student leader, will book them for your college. The Marketplace was like the trading floor at the NYSE: chaotic and loud. Thousands of students from all over the nation converged in one giant arena trying to book Lance Bass before another school booked him for the same date or trying to get an autograph of Frank Warren, author of Post Secret, before the line got cut off. For me, it was not only a great place to network with prominent artists, speakers, and performers, but also a great opportunity to share ideas with other student leaders across the nation. Besides the surfeit of free promotional items I got from each agency, the experience was priceless. I encourage all students to ask about this type of club/organization at your prospective college campus. Next year’s CAB convention will be in Nashville, Tennessee, and I look forward to seeing you there!