The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has named St. Mary’s Ryken sophomore, Sydney Neal, to its Student Leadership Advisory Committee to support the association’s efforts to build student engagement, service, leadership and voice.
Sydney applied to the position and was chosen to represent Maryland, then 6 students from the applying 50 states were chosen for the national positions.
“I am blessed to have been selected to serve on this committee,” said Sydney. “I hope to be a student voice and advocate for students rights to members of congress.”
As a member of the Student Leadership Advisory Committee, Sydney will support NASSP’s goal of engaging student leaders in influencing federal legislation by creating a platform for student voice. The Committee will also select a theme and implement a nationwide project, in keeping with the precedent set by the previous committee’s Global Citizenship initiative.
“As a member of this committee, I hope to advocate for the NASSP Global Citizenship initiative, and realize success through higher national rates of school inclusion for all ethnicities, cultures and religions, and overall, increased inclusion for student/school communities,” said Sydney.
Sydney is a member of the Maryland Youth Advisory Council, is the State Charity Coordinator for the Maryland Association of Student Councils and the president of the St. Mary’s Association of Student Councils. She is also a member of the SMR student government association, orchestra and she plays on the JV girls soccer team.
Committee members—eight students, three activity advisers, and three principals from across the country–were selected by the NASSP student programs staff and approved by the NASSP Board of Directors for a two-year term that runs through October 2019.