With history as their backdrop, high school students from Woodland Hills and 13 other school districts from around the region officially launched preparations for the seventh annual Woodland Hills Student Summit on Friday, October 24.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History served as the host for Friday’s event, and the setting served as an important reminder of humanity’s role as the earth’s caretakers. Whether it was a conversation under the watchful eye of historic discoveries from the Jurassic period, forming a connection in the shadow of larger than life African mammals, or exploring the personal impact of a particular topic deep in the Discovery Basecamp, the students had the museum and history at their fingertips as they delved into their topics.
Each year, the Student Summit organizes two leadership events. These sessions are designed to bring the student leaders from participating schools together so that they can learn more about each other, begin to organize the key aspects of their discussion groups, and formulate plans to develop presentation materials and other elements that they’ll use at the summit in March. It also helps them learn how to effectively facilitate constructive discussions in large groups, create engaging presentations, and transform broad ideas into specific topics.
The discussion topics for each Student Summit are chosen by student participants from the previous summit. Student leaders then sign up for the selected topics and begin the process of taking a broad concept and developing it into an impactful and meaningful discussion. They’ll create PowerPoint presentations, share anecdotes related to the topic, provide historic context, facilitate discussions, and help participants connect with valuable resources. Every step is student-led and student-focused, all powered by the desire of these student leaders to make a difference in their schools, their communities, and the world.
This year’s topics include Community Leadership, Fostering Healthy Relationships, Gun Violence Prevention, Animal and Environmental Connections, Social Media Influence, Mental Health, Grief and Loss, Artificial Intelligence, Athletes Commitment and Responsibilities, Unity and Self Conception, and Criminal Justice Exploration. During Friday’s session and again at the second leadership event in February, students worked with experts in each topic field. The experts helped students narrow their focus to specific areas within their overall topic, provided advice on potential resources, and offered suggestions to navigate group dynamics.
Along with host Woodland Hills, this year’s leadership group features students from Aliquippa, Avonworth, Belle Vernon, Carlynton, Chartiers Valley, City of Bridges, Mt. Lebanon, North Hills, Pittsburgh Sci Tech, Seneca Valley, Upper St. Clair, and West Mifflin. The mix of urban, suburban, and rural districts represents the Summit’s goal of bringing students together from diverse backgrounds, empowering them to share their voices and perspectives, and enabling them to connect to find common ground to address the issues that matter most to them.
The student leaders will meet again in February at the Heinz History Center before convening the full Student Summit on March 13 at Penn State Greater Allegheny.
The Woodland Hills Student Summit was created by English teacher Erin Wall as a platform for Woodland Hills students to speak out following a series of community incidents in 2018 and 2019. It quickly grew to be a multi-district platform that now covers a wide range of topics hand-picked by students. The Student Summit is possible in part thanks to The HEAR Foundation, Penn State 4-H Extension, the L.I.G.H.T. Education Initiative, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Heinz History Center, and Penn State Greater Allegheny.