b'wanted to help make change at LRSD during his last year of high school. He wants kids across the division to know that no matter their culture, race, gender, age, or background, there are studentsI recently joined the Advisorywho will represent their voices and fight for them Board because I wanted to be parton the Board. COVID-19 lockdowns set many of us apart during of a team that was helping createthe better of the last three years and left many of a better future and inspire othermy peers, both younger and older than me, with feelings of distress, anxiety, and isolation, said adolescents. Just because you lookKhalon. I remember when I first came to my school in the middle of Grade 10, in the middledifferent doesnt mean your voiceof intense lockdowns and isolation, I felt lonely. matters any less. Growing up, That is not the case anymore. but a lot ofother students still feel left out in the aftermathI didnt even know I had one. of COVID-19. Esther Raji Throughout these past four years, I learned that being a leader was not just about taking on a role that entailed an abundance of responsibility within a committee or group, said Bonnie Chen, At the first meeting, Ridhwanlai Badmos, a Gradea Grade 12 student at J.H. Bruns Collegiate and 12 student at Windsor Park Collegiate, realizedStudent Advisory Board member. Instead, being the Senior Leadership Team was serious abouta leader was about asking the critical questions listening to and growing student voice. that mattered to both my team and me. We are enabled to be a force for good.Us being there and being able to say hey, I think we should focus more on this and having CoreyThe students are also able to take ideas from theirand Darcy take the ideas we have to Christian tomeetings and try to implement them at their schools.talk about is nice, said Ridhwanlai. Were in a room full of leaders.One example of this was for National Mental Health Month and Week. Ridhwanlai is the Sesinna Sium is a Grade 11 student at Dakotafounder of the non-profit Wake Up Mental Health. Collegiate. Sesinna joined the Board to be a voiceRidhwanlai provided a few students with materials for young black girls like herself to prevent theso they could run sessions on Mental Health at feelings of isolation she felt as a person of colourtheir schools.because she knows there is a place for everyonein this society and system.The Student Advisory Board has also welcomed guest speakers to their meetings such as Growing up, I was often the only Black girl in myWhiteboard Collective to talk about resumes, class and sometimes school, said Sesinna. I neverplanning for the future, and leadership.saw myself in the people around me, the booksI read, and what I learned. It always left me feelingWhen people are thinking about joining next year, like I didnt belong. know it is a place that is inclusive, with likeminded people, a home away from home, where you can Khalon Ntege, a Grade 12 student at Nelsondevelop leadership and a sense of belonging,McIntyre Collegiate, joined the Board because hesaid Ridhwanlai.19'