On May 3rd, 2024, twenty Pentucket High School students along with Ms. Cavallaro and Mr. Jacques attended Jostens’ Renaissance All in Leadership Conference in Ellington Connecticut! The trip was originally intended for all Student Council members. However, due to conflicts, many could not make it and therefore, other students who have shown leadership qualities were chosen. I myself as Student Council President was extremely grateful for this opportunity to learn more about what it takes to be a leader and different ways to enhance the climate of our school in positive ways. 

On the day of the conference, all twenty students and the two advisors arrived at Pentucket at 5:30 in the morning and got on a coach bus ready to endure our two and a half hour ride to Connecticut. Throughout our drive we had many discussions of what we thought it might be like, but none of us could have expected what was to come. After our extremely long ride, we made it to Ellington High School. Immediately after pulling in, we were greeted with immense enthusiasm by students as they told us the plan for the day. We then walked through a tunnel of tons of students while they were cheering and blasting music that truly set the tone for the day. As we entered the building we checked in and headed into the auditorium where the music and positive energy continued. 

Once everyone was settled, the main speaker, Dr. Phil Campbell welcomed us and told us about his background in a funny yet informative manner which helped relax everyone’s nerves. He talked about experiences as a teacher, coach, athletic director, principal, and a father. Dr. Campbell explained that Jostens’ Renaissance is about creating a positive and welcoming school atmosphere and the impact it can have on students. For example, after implementing Renaissance in his school, Dr. Campbells found increased attendance and graduation rates, as well as an overall more positive environment.

Following Dr. Campbell, we were lucky to hear from Gian Paul Gonzalez. Gonzalez is a well known public speaker who got his fame from being an inspiration to the New York Giants after his “All In” talk. He had been on the NCAA First Team All-American but turned down his NBA contract to pursue his stronger passions of working with at-risk youth and also became a high school teacher. Gonzalez describes to us the meaning of being “All In”. He says that this means to put your best self forward no matter what. You must fight for the things you are passionate about no matter the challenges in your way or the statistics that may be against you. 

In addition to listening to the amazing speakers, we also got to meet new people from the other ten or so schools! We played games and had conversations about our own schools which was a great way to start talking without it being too awkward. I found that these exercises helped us get out of our comfort zone and become more comfortable with talking to new people that we wouldn’t necessarily choice to on our own.

Overall, this experience was amazing and truly helped me along with my peers and advisors begin to think of loads of ideas and possibilities to bring back to Pentucket. I feel as though each and everyone of us was able to gain something positive out of this conference, and I am beyond grateful for that!