Last January, several Stoughton High School students had the opportunity to attend a youth leadership summit. At this summit, attendees were encouraged to brainstorm some short-term and long-term goals for their school. After returning to SHS, many students were inspired by this and decided to create the Student Action Committee (SAC), a student-led club focused on promoting wellness, equality, and involvement within our school community.
The club is also in partnership with the Stoughton Wellness Coalition, an organization that works to promote mental, physical, emotional, social, and environmental well-being in Stoughton.
Founding members of the SAC include Travis Ryan, Lisa Wang, Sable Tyrrell, Steven Sess, Moses Harris, Mecheznie DeBruin, Addison Liddicoat, Ania Paluszek, Lina Orschel, and Ella Hembrook, who explained the catalyst for the creation of the club.
“We felt passionate about making short-term and long-term goals and wanted to implement change [in our school],” she said. “[We wanted to plan] something we could get done in the week, something we can get done by the end of the year, and something we could start that could happen next year.”
Since its inception a few months ago, the SAC has already jumped into action. So far, projects by the SAC include writing words of affirmations in chalk outside the school, distributing kindness bracelets during lunch, and sharing information for students on social media. They also held a peace-of-mind lunch on March 20, 2024, to help recruit new members and bring more of a peaceful environment to SHS.
The SAC considers itself a council for student voices. There are no official club leaders, and the process is very collaborative amongst members, with their projects being decided by the group in hopes of bettering SHS.
“I feel like I’m surrounded by people who have the same motives as me and want to create this positive change, and just being around that positive energy feels really good,” Hembrook said. “I just want [the students of SHS] to know that we’re here and if there is something that needs to be brought up, we would love to hear from the students and try to make change with what can be done and what is possible. Just know that we’re here to better the experience [of high school].”
The SAC’s advisor, Katy Mullen, along with the help of Teressa Pellett, has been able to facilitate the club’s ideas for improvement within the high school so far.
“I’m really excited for the future of the SAC,” Mullen said. “I think we’ve done some really cool things, like the chalk drawing and the peace of mind lunch. I hope that [events like these] help kids destress and give them an outlet for a little bit of stress-free time.”
If interested in joining the SAC or learning more, Hembrook encourages any student to reach out to current members.