It has been nearly ten years since Student Council has had a change at the top, but in a few weeks, Susie Pike will step down from her post as advisor and pass the baton to a new leader.
While Pike has crafted this group into an integral part of the WCA community it was the Drexlers who took STUCO and made it what it is today. While many students do not even know the name Drexler, they were pivitol in making STUCO more about student enjoyment. But now, when students think of STUCO, they think of Susie Pike.
Pike came to WCA in 1992 as the technology teacher, and will leave after finishing her 21st year. In that time, she began overseeing Junior Senior Banquet, a role she held for five years until 2008. She did not take up the role of STUCO advisor until 2004. In that time events have grown greatly and STUCO’s role in student activities has become larger.
“When I first became head of STUCO, the carnival was sponsored by the juniors. But that year, it became part of STUCO, something that has lasted ever since,” said Pike.
Carnival in recent years has exploded with the school, now being by far the biggest event that the school hosts. Last year’s event broke the record for the most profitable Carnival ever.
Also under Mrs. Pike, the Leadership retreat was created in its current form.
“It used to be that only Student Council went on the retreat, but we thought it would be good for everyone to experience it,” said Pike.
Another thing that has changed in recent years is the Spring Event. The event used to be the biggest event that STUCO hosted, even bigger than Christmas Banquet (which reached a new attendance high this year with 510 students attending). The theme used to change every year, but after noticing that the Western theme was a fan favorite, the decision was made to stick with that theme.
But looking forward to the future, many things come to mind. Will events change? Will everything change, or will everything stay the same? But if you ask Pike theres only one thing that comes to mind.
“I want STUCO to be more about leadership, and less about putting on great events, becuase I know that the events will be great, but developing great leaders is more important than anything,” said Pike.
Students also have an idea about what they want out of STUCO, since it is their most direct line to their student leaders.
Student Council itself has grown quite a bit. In 2004 only 5 people from each grade were allowed to hold seats on the Council. In the 2013-2014, the number rests at 8, bringing the total number of students on the council to 34. And with that, there are the members of Student Council who will be affected by this transition.
No matter what happens with Student Council, it will continue to turn out some of WCA’s best leaders. Student Council members have gone on to be great leaders in college and beyond. But more importantly Student Council will continue to represent our school and the individuals in it. It has become one of the few places where students of all grades mingle and mix on a normal basis.
