On Friday, May 3rd, members of the upcoming yearbook staff, and The Class of 2025 and 2026 Officers went on a Leadership Conference field trip to Ellington High School in Ellington, CT. This field trip gave an opportunity for students to gain more knowledge about ways to improve the school environment and make it a better place for the student community. Juniors: Vanessa Cipriano, Hailey Correia, Gabrielle Esposito, Gabriella Johnson, Alban Kadiu, Ava Kyle, Ava Sisk, Aubrey Shepard, Juliana Meglio, Francesca Guerrera, Dominic Soeprasetyo, Gabriel Bulwidas and sophomores Nadya Apuzzo, Hifza Khan and Ruby Daddario were the selected representatives to attend this conference with teachers Ashley Alves and Chelsie Saucier. Topics such as appreciation, inclusion, improvement, unity, and kindness were covered on the trip. The goal of this trip was to bring back new ideas to implement into Watertown High School in the upcoming future. 

Guest speaker, Gian Paul Gonzalez, was present at the conference, and gave inspiration of ways to improve to the youth leaders. Gian Paul is a 9th grade history teacher, but is better  known for being the founder and executive Director of Hope + Future Foundation and is widely recognized for inspiring the New York Giants to their most recent Super Bowl victory with the phrase “All In.” This is the lifelong motto Gian Paul lives by, and hopes to inspire others to live their lives with the same motto. “All In” means to fully commit to anything you pursue in life, and is an analogy for poker chips. He hopes to inspire many by being “All In” with anything pursued in life. Gian Paul inspired the entire crowd with his motivational and inspirational speech, especially students from Watertown. The youth leaders and yearbook staff are “All In” to make improvements to the school environment to make it better for all! Some examples include making the appreciation and acknowledgment for the students and staff more widely known and seen by all, making the school halls and classrooms more inviting, welcoming and exciting, whether that be with painted murals or decorations, and making secondary education commitments and achievements better celebrated throughout the school. These are just a few of many ways to improve the environment within school. 

According to junior, Aubrey Shepard, her favorite part of the trip was, “[the] uplifting environment and getting to meet new people.” Ava Kyle, junior, had a similar experience as well, saying her favorite part of the trip was, “Hanging out with fellow classmates and students.” Advisors of the trip, Ashley Alves and Chelsie Saucier, were beyond excited for the outcome of the field trip and the amazing opportunities given on ways to become a better leader to improve the community of the school. Mrs. Saucier was inspired by the group of students that attended the trip, and how they were able to work together, without really knowing each other. After seeing this, she now believes the entire school can be united. This mindset is key and can be applied to improving the environment at WHS. Mrs. Alves was very excited and was happy she was able to “Really get a lot of ideas that are easy to do.” Overall, the biggest takeaway for all students and staff that attended this great conference was the opportunity to bring more ideas and culture to the highschool!