Our 2019 Fall Conference will be hosted by Palmer High School, November 1 – 3, 2019. Watch this space for more information!

SKAGWAY — More than 200 students from across Alaska gathered in Skagway for the 2018 Alaska Association of Student Governments fall conference, “Gateway to the Future.”

Visiting students had the opportunity to ride the White Pass and Yukon Railway and hear the story of Soapy Smith. Brandon Love from the Beanstalk Project was the keynote speaker on Saturday. Students were also entertained by the Whitehorse Dakhká Khwaán Dancers, along with a city tour of Skagway and the Days of ‘98 Show.

Another of the highlights from the three-day conference was the election of new region representatives for the association executive board. New reps include Ethan Sundown, Bethel Regional High School – Region I Representative; Jacob Cook, Tri-Valley High School – re-elected to represent Region II; Ashlee Shaeffer, Valdez High School – Region III Representative; Hendrikje Bodine, Eagle River High School – will represent Region IV; Dylan Chapell, Haines High School – Region V Representative and Eleanor Adasiak, Lathrop High School – Region VI Representative. Each will serve a one-year term on the board. Abigail Jensen, Wasilla High School, was elected as the AASG Representative to ASAA and will serve a two-year term.

One of the major functions of AASG conferences is for the general assembly to hear and vote on proposed resolutions. Following often lively debate, a number of resolutions were passed at the Skagway conference on topics ranging from local issues, to statewide issues such as Alaska’s Proposition One on the November ballet. Passed resolutions are then forwarded to the appropriate school or governing body for consideration. Once done, these resolutions will be posted on the AASG website.

The Spring AASG conference was also announced. The spring 2019 conference will be hosted by Bethel Regional High School, April 11-13, 2019.

Our thanks again to everyone at Skagway High School and the community of Skagway for their warm hospitality and for making this conference such a success!

Interested in hosting a conference?
Conferences are an exciting opportunity for both the students that attend and the schools that host them.

Past conference hosts Anthony Jensen (Wasilla High), Danielle Lewis (Eagle River High), Elizabeth Bender and Lindsey Glenn (Kodiak High), Barbara Petukh Jackson (Mat-Su Career Tech), and Mara Sheakley-Early (Thunder Mountain High) are available to lend support and guidance in your decision to become a conference host school. Host schools will also have the support of the AASG executive board. Our parent organization, the Alaska School Activities Association, has also agreed to forward-fund a portion of your conference, which will help with many of the up-front costs of the conference.

Please go to the Hosting a Conference page for more information and the application form to host an AASG statewide conference.

This article was written by our AASG public relations officer Makenzie Mirasole

BETHEL — Roughly 350 Alaska student leaders traveled from far and wide to experience and gather in the “Forefront of the Last Frontier” — Bethel, Alaska the largest community on the Kuskokwim river. For three days we cultivated student government skills and communicated with other delegates from around the state.

Delegates got to create and debate resolutions on issues students find important. Some resolution topics were: permitting seniors to decorate graduation caps, abolishing Unalaska City schools dress code, the implementation of an Alaska Native Teaching and Educational Program, ending child marriage in Alaska and our primary conference resolution: the continuation of funding to the Alaska Marine Highway System.

Workshops included a variety of different activities such as Yupik beading, a walk along the Kuskokwim river, survival skills, a debate class titled “Change My Mind”, line dancing, an improv class, Yupik dance and many more.

Nick Hanson, an American Ninja Warrior from Unalakleet, came to talk about the struggles Alaska youth face especially in rural villages. He touched on many topics, including suicide prevention and alcoholism, but his main message was to live up to your full potential every day.

The other speaker we got to hear from was Senator Lisa Murkowski. She spoke on the importance of Alaska youth and the power of student voice. She also spoke on many issues the State of Alaska is facing right now such as the Marine Highway System budget cuts. She opened the floor so delegates could ask her questions for a more personal touch.

This conference was the election of executive board positions. Open positions included: president, vice president, parliamentarian, secretary, treasurer, and public relations officer. Congratulations to the following new executive board members: Jake Wade, North Pole High School – president; Forrest Davis, Juneau Douglas High School – vice president; Brandon Gall, Robert Service High school – parliamentarian; Jenna Stringer, Barrow High School – secretary; Alyssa Saylor, Chugiak High School – treasurer; and Makenzie Mirasole, Tri-Valley High School – public relations officer. Each will serve a one-year term on the AASG board.

The 2019 Fall AASG conference will be hosted by Palmer High School, November 1-3, 2019. At this conference we will be “Growing Together.” Be sure to plan on joining us!

Thank you a million times to the Lower Kuskokwim School District, our Bethel hosts, the conference registrars, the community of Bethel and everyone who helped make the 2019 AASG Spring conference a stupendous success!

The National Student Council Conference showcases of dozens of outstanding international speakers, delves into great service experiences, and gives time to make friends with students from all over the world. You can go to NASC next year. Go to www.nasc.us to learn more.