Last year, I took on the role of Student Leadership Coordinator. I came to Cohort 21 as a participant with the intention of developing an already existing student leadership program. I worked through the process and landed on the question: How might we leverage student engagement and passion by creating a progressive leadership pathway that strengthens students’ sense of purpose and belonging within their community?
This year, I’m returning to Cohort 21 as a coach. not because I answered my question, but to try out mentoring and continue to develop the leadership program at my school.
Updates on My Original Question
I created leadership roles for students in junior grades. This school year, there was so much interest in pursuing leadership roles! Initially, I viewed this as a problem. I worried that I would not be able to include all students who were interested.
However, this level of student interest is actually evidence of exactly what I was looking for: engagement and passion. The challenge isn’t managing their interest or limiting how many students can participate in something; it’s creating enough meaningful pathways to honour this passion and desire to contribute to a community.
While I have seen students in grades 5 & 6 take on opportunities, I will not actually be able to have an answer to my question this school year. My question requires longitudinal tracking so I wonder what systems I could develop in order to gather data on the program.
Recently, I brought students to Thrive Student Leaders Conference. While the grade 8 students were incredibly excited and many of them felt that they had taken away meaningful learning, I felt this way too. I am currently in the process of overhauling our leadership training for grade 8s.
Participant to Coach
My transition from Cohort 21 participant to coach mirrors this shift in perspective. I chose coaching not because I felt ready to lead, but because I wanted to try out mentoring and develop my skills before considering leadership as a career pathway. Just as I’m working to create space for every student who wants a leadership role, I’m discovering what kinds of support I need to grow into my own leadership potential. I’m learning that leadership isn’t about having all the answers — it’s about holding space for the right questions and trusting that the pathways will emerge.
Hey Melody!
We’re glad to have you as a coach with Insight Engine this year. As evident both in your post and in our first session, it seems like this notion of “holding space” and truly listening rings very true in your approach to developing your own “how might we” question and helping others develop theirs.
In terms of what you’ve noticed since taking on the Student Leadership Coordinator role, I also have had a similar realization with our Student Life offerings. I think we sometimes think that too much choice waters down the quality of these leadership opportunities because the right systems aren’t in place to support them (staffing, training, etc.). However, with over 50 clubs at HTS and many other ways for students to step up, we’ve found that their passion often leaves our staff advisors in the dust, struggling to come to terms with their ambitious mandates and goals.
In that pursuit of creating space for every student who wants a leadership role, it’s great that you’re keeping an eye on yourself as well. I’m someone who will always put myself second in the work to lift up others. But I’m wondering how tapping into your own need for support, as you suggest, might supplement these systems and structures you’ll develop.
Keep leaning into that I’d say. It might not help you build the leadership program, but might allow your work in the role to be even more empathy-focused and character-driven. Looking forward to continuing the conversation, Colin
Melody,
I really appreciate this reflection and the way you are returning to Cohort 21 with the same powerful question, now as a coach. Your shift from seeing high student interest as a problem to solve to seeing it as proof of engagement and passion is such a strong stance. You are clearly thinking about how to create more pathways, not fewer barriers.
I also love that you are already thinking about the longer view, wondering how to track impact over time and reworking the leadership training after the Thrive conference. It shows how seriously you take both student leadership and your own growth.
I am genuinely excited to work alongside you this year and to see how both your program and your own leadership journey continue to grow.
Gareth Jones
I really appreciate your reflection on the shift from participant to coach; it mirrors the very leadership principles you’re trying to cultivate in your students. I love how you’ve reframed high student interest from a “problem” into a sign of engagement and passion, and your focus on creating meaningful pathways rather than limiting opportunities is inspiring. Your point about leadership being about holding space for the right questions, rather than having all the answers, is such an important reminder for educators and students alike. Excited to see how your program continues to grow!
Melody, this is so exciting! Love that you are delving into what leadership pathways look like for all of us – youth and adults alike – and your acknowledgment of not having yet answered the question you are grappling with really resonates with me. (I think we should connect about our journeys with youth in leadership at the upcoming F2F as I’m pretty deeply into the community building and leadership pathways piece myself).
I wonder if we as educators do the hard thing of leaping before we are ready, as you suggest, if our students will also feel they can do the same? And if we can ask the best questions possible so that pathways emerge, does it become more about cultivating that growing pathway so it (and then by association, the student on it) thrives? Thanks for making me think critically about the pathways our students end up on and how we can help shape that journey!