The Benefits of Student Government

I was actively involved in a civics club in high school, and we ended up traveling to Washington D.C. together. Later, in college, I worked in the Student Leadership Department, joined several student groups, and was elected onto the Student Council. Making the choices to join one of these groups led to my decisions to join the others. It was kind of a domino effect, and the experience and knowledge I gained by participating in student government is something I still use today in the working world.

If you know a student who needs a little push to learn about student politics, government, and leadership, I encourage you to give them a nudge. It really is never too late to start, so students should look into the opportunities offered whether they are in high school or college.

How to Work with Others

One of the best lessons you will learn is how to work with other people who don’t always share your ideas or views. Putting on events or learning about politics as a group teaches students how to interact. Since it isn’t in an actual class setting, there is more room to be open and interpret project differently. The ability to work with diverse groups of people will help students throughout their entire lives.

Leadership Skills

People involved with student government learn how to be good leaders. The skills students learn while leading meetings or planning events will be put to good use later when the students are in the workforce. Student leaders often have to answer a lot of questions from other students, so this is also a good way for these leaders to learn more about what they are working on.

Leaving the Safety Net

Students involved in leadership often learn things about themselves they didn’t know before. When you are given the opportunity to experience new things, and leave your area of comfort, you might find that you can do a lot more than you ever thought. At the first conference I ever went to, I participated in a workshop of which the coordinators were running late to. We were all sitting around chatting, but I thought it would be a good idea if we started the workshop on our own: after all, we were all student leaders. Well, I was nervous because I didn’t know anybody, but did it anyway. I surprised myself by being able to take the initiative and start leading the discussion. Learning that I could do that is a memory I will always carry with me.

Learning About Different Political Structures

Every school runs their student governments differently. Students who are involved in student government on different levels, and in different school, have the opportunity to learn about the different ways governments can be structured. Any students interested in going into politics some day can learn a lot simply by being a student leader.