THS Student Council earns two top honors

Texas High School’s student council recently won top state and national awards in service, leadership and activities for their work to improve their school and community.

THS Student Council is one of 37 Texas schools to win the National Gold Council of Excellence Award from the National Association of Student Councils, and one of only two schools in the state to win the award for nine consecutive years.

The award is given to councils which have successfully demonstrated the highest levels of leadership.

“Earning this award is no small task,” Jeff Sherrill, associate director of National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) stated in a press release. “The success of the Texas High School program is a testament to the leadership and support they are given and the fact that the program is an integral part of the school and its educational mission.”

At the state level, THS Student Council was named a Dare to Dream Dare to Do State Sweepstakes Council in several categories for service projects conducted during the school year. THS was one of 213 schools in the state to win the honor.

Outstanding recognition was earned in the following categories: Outstanding Student Council–Ricky Cooks, chair; Outstanding Community Service–John Debenport, chair; Outstanding DASH–Carlee Phillips, chair; Outstanding Pride and Patriotism–Abby Norton, chair; Outstanding Energy & Environment–Tucker Douglass, chair.

Other recognitions received during the TASC Annual Conference:

Ricky Cooks, THS senior, was one of five students awarded a Texas Association of Student Councils District 19 scholarship. Cooks plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin in the fall. Scholarships were awarded based on academic achievement, personal leadership skills and TASC participation at the local, district and state levels. He is the son of Sharon and Ricky Cooks, Sr. and has over 1,000 personal volunteer hours in his high school career.

Top 10 Video Award for a student-produced video from Texas High School’s TigerVision program on the annual STUCO Dinner Theatre program.

THS Student Council was elected 2017-2018 Conference Coordinator. Claire Doan, THS Student Representative and Susan Waldrep, Adviser, will represent THS on the TASC Board of Directors and be part of all planning for next year’s annual meeting.

Susan Waldrep and Debbie Nicholas serve as THS Student Council advisers.