Redmond HS student chosen for state association

Dr. Nicole MacTavish, principal of Redmond High School, announced Friday that sophomore Rebekah Lovsness has been elected to serve on the Executive Board of the Oregon Association of Student Councils.

Lovsness decided to run for the office after participating in her Leadership class at Redmond High School: “Last year, I was class president; just being around the more experienced people in my leadership class really taught me a lot about being accountable and about stepping up.”

This summer Lovsness also participated in the OASC summer camp. “I met a lot of really inspirational people,” she stated, explaining that the experience helped her understand how important it is for young people like herself to get involved in what is happening around them.

“OASC helps inform you about what is going on with politics, with schools, and with communities. I believe that it is really important to stay knowledgeable about what is going on in your world,” said Lovsness. “It is important to have fact based statements, not just opinions about what is going on.”

Lovsness also thinks students should be more involved in the decisions being made in education today, “I think it’s really important that everyone get involved with their schools and to stay on top of what is happening in education.”

The elections took place at the Annual Fall Conference in Seaside, where a group of over 1500 students and advisors from over 100 high schools were in attendance.

Nicole MacTavish, Lovsness’ principal, was not surprised at Lovsness’ new position: “Rebekah is extremely driven and she works tirelessly to make positive change in her world.”

Nate Munoz, Lovsness’ Associated Student Body Advisor, is immensely proud of Lovsness, “She has a quiet demeanor but she gets things done. Rebekah loves to serve the student body.”

Munoz also noted that Rebekah went through a challenging election process to win this position, “You have to have courage to get up in front of 1,200 kids and give a speech.”

As an Executive Board member, Lovsness will represent her region and join a group of ten other youth board members, and 10 adult board members from around the state. Her duties include planning and presiding over two statewide conferences, communicating with schools in her region, and participating in policy decisions for the association, which was founded in 1953.

The Oregon Association of Student Councils serves middle and high schools around the state, providing conferences, workshops and summer leadership camps designed to heighten student leadership development. The group also participates in statewide service projects.

This is not the first time Redmond High School students have served at the State level. “This is the second straight year we have had someone from Redmond High School sitting on the State governing board,” said Munoz, referring to Redmond High School’s current Associated Student Body President, Sommer Kirk, who served as OASC At-Large Representative.

“The student board members are extremely valuable to our association. They are also outstanding leaders in their own school and community. They each bring their own unique perspective to our statewide association,” states Sara Nilles, OASC Executive Director.