Timmonsville High students head to national leadership conference

Senior Deanna Washington and Freshman Paulette Sarrazin, part of the JAG program at Timmonsville High School, are excited to head to Washington for the National Student Leadership Conference.

By: | SCNow
Published: November 17, 2009

TIMMONSVILLE — Four students from Timmonsville High School are packing their bags for the nation’s capital Tuesday night. They are headed to the National Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., where they will be joined by more than 700 of their peers and fellow members of the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program from across the country.

While there, the students will participate in leadership workshops and sessions on social and professional development, tour the Capitol Building and visit many of the historic sights, and they might even get a chance to meet First Lady Michelle Obama.

Senior Deanna Washington said she’s extremely excited about this opportunity.

“It’s a new experience. I am excited to see some things that a lot of people don’t get to see,” she said.

Washington, 17, is especially interested in visiting the monuments commemorating the different wars because she is joining the U.S. Army upon graduation in June.

For freshman Paulette Sarrazin, the trip is about developing her leadership skills.

“I want to talk to new people, help them and learn about where they come from,” she said.

Ninth-graders Ciarra Farrier and Brianna Scott also will participate in the leadership conference.

JAG is a school-to-career program that is represented in 32 states and 20 schools in South Carolina. Timmonsville High School was part of the pilot program instituted five years ago.

Abby Lawson, the JAG coordinator at Timmonsville High, said 35 to 45 students, or about 30 percent, of the school’s population participate in the program every year. As part of the state’s dropout prevention program, the students in JAG learn about what they can expect when they leave the halls of high school.

“We bring in guest speakers, hold mock interviews, go on industry tours, and do community service,” she said.

Lawson also takes students on college tours and counsels them through the application process.

It’s a lot of work, she said, but seeing 90 percent of her graduating seniors go on to post-secondary education last year makes it worth it.