Oregon Association of Student Councils

The Oregon Association of Student Councils (OASC) is a non-profit organization serving middle and high school students in the U.S. state of Oregon. OASC provides leadership development to students and adult advisers.

General information

The original constitution of OASC was written in 1954.^[1] OASC is sponsored by the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, and its activities are reviewed by the Oregon State Board of Education.^[2] OASC is similar to student council organizations located in each U.S. state, and they fall under region 7 of the National Association of Student Councils.^[3] The main goal of OASC is to …"assist in the development of capable, ethical, and active leaders."^[4]

Mission statement

Committed To Leadership Development With A Vision of Service, Involvement, and Action.

Governing body

Two entities govern the OASC. The first body is the Executive Board, composed of the program director and nine others, who are usually activities directors at Oregon schools. The second governing body is the Student Executive Council, who are members elected by schools attending the fall conference. This board has a state president (currently Gaby Mueller from Tualatin High School), two at-large representatives (the runners-up to the state president), two middle school representatives, and six other regional representatives.

Conferences

OASC holds various conferences throughout the year.

Summer workshops

OASC holds two summer workshops, held every July for high schoolers. These week long camps attract around 200 students at each session, and are designed to build leadership skills and networking amongst the students. OASC program director Nancy Moen has been quoted as saying that “my first camp blew me away. It's exactly what we all wish education could be. I love the networking and the creativity of both staff and students. You can be exhausted from the hours involved, yet crackling with excitement”.^[5] These workshops are held at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon. There is also a shorter middle school session at another location every summer.

Fall conference

OASC holds a fall conference at the Seaside Convention Center the first weekend in November every year. The purpose of this conference is to elect the new student executive council for the year, announce adviser of the year awards, announce the schedule for the remainder of the year, and continue OASC’s mission of promoting student leadership and networking.

Spring conference

The first weekend of May, OASC holds a spring conference in Eugene, Oregon. The conference is similar to Fall Conference, with the exception of the elections. Middle schoolers are allowed to attend.

Winter workshops

OASC also holds smaller scale workshops in the winter months. The is one held over the course of 5 days at various schools across the state, and each only lasts one day.

Nationals

Every year, there is also an OASC delegation that attends the National Association of Student Councils Conference, held at different locations each year.

Services

In addition to conferences, OASC provides other services to Oregon students and advisers. Members of OASC receive benefits like reduced costs for conferences and award possibilities. Oregon Student Councils are able to apply for Honor Council recognition, and 5 students every year are selected as Community Leaders of the Year. OASC also sponsors 2, $1,000 scholarships for students attending Oregon Universities.

References

1. ^ OASC web site
2. ^ Story not found - OregonLive.com
3. ^ Nasc California Report
4. ^ [1]. Quote attributed to Program Director Nancy Moen.
5. ^ . http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3962/is_200505/ai_n13637030. ^{[dead link]}

• Freeman, Joe (2006-12-05). "Castillo seeks more power over OSAA". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/prepwaterpolo/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/116615853485970.xml&coll=7. 
• NASC Region 7 Report
• Shryock, Kathleen Wilson (2005-05). "Hats Off to Success". Leadership For Student Activities. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3962/is_200505/ai_n13637030. 

External links

• OASC
• COSA
• NASC