My Story/college

My Story - South Elgin Students

Four Incredible Student Leaders
South Elgin High School

Last week Cody Nelson had the opportunity to sit down with a wonderful group of passionate high school students from South Elgin, IL. Together they reflected on the history of STLF at South Elgin, its future, and how they will transition it to a new group of students. It is inspiring to see the ownership and drive that these students brought to the table. 

The South Elgin High Pay It Forward Tour was started through the leadership of a core group of students and this is their story: 

Cailey’s Take:

Two years ago a friend of mine asked me to go to STLF Leadership Camp. My emotions were mixed, being both excited and a little nervous. After a week of activities, newly formed friendships, and a great time, I knew STLF was an organization I wanted to work with for a long time! When the following fall rolled around, the three of us that went to Camp that summer, decided we wanted to start a Pay It Forward Tour at our school. Being a new school of only four years, we wanted to do something that could put our school on the map, make it known, and give the students an opportunity to serve communities across the nation. Planning a Pay It Forward Tour was exactly what our school needed, so we started planning away. 

Getting the word out to the students and actually getting people to sign up was a difficult task and in the end we only had 22 students on our first Tour. Although the group was small, it was an absolutely fantastic weekend. We became a family and had a great time serving in communities on the way to Charleston, West Virginia. 

As soon as we returned from our trip, everyone could only say great things about it which got other students super excited for the next year. This year rolled around and we had tons of students suddenly interested in going and being apart of such a great experience. The day the registration opened we already had people signing up! Within two or three weeks, without hardly any publicity or begging, we had a full bus of students. People were asking if we were going to make another bus, a problem we didn’t think we would have so soon and a problem we didn’t quite mind!  

A couple months later we left our school with 42 students and 7 college leaders on our way to Nashville, Tennessee! Instantly we were playing get-to-know-you games, making new friends, and laughing at the silliest things! We were exposed to many different types of people, places and things that in the end gave us an experience that none of us will EVER forget!  

Mel’s Take:

STLF has been a part of my life since the 8th grade. After going to the Leadership Camp in 2007 I couldn't think of a better organization to bring to my high school. It didn't fly the first year, so a friend and I went on a local high school's Pay it Forward Tour. Just one year after that, South Elgin High School left on its first Pay it Forward Tour. I led it with thefriend I had gone on the previous Tour with, and another friend from school I had brought to the 2008 Leadership Camp. Our first Tour was better than I could have imagined. It was small, with 20 students and 8 college leaders, but it was a perk that actually helped us grow even closer. The other kids and I grew in our leadership and had a great time serving alongside each other. 

This year, we had a lot of anticipation before the trip. This pumped up our core to the extreme. We had over 40 students signed up for the trip and even students on a waiting list hoping to get on the trip. I was intimidated at first to lead a bus of so many of my peers. It didn't take any time at all to adjust to the new bus and the new adventures this next year had brought. I am so proud that I was able to take part in something so important during high school. I have no doubt that SEHS will be able to take two buses or more for years to come. My hope is that I will also be able to bring Pay it Forward to my college next year as well.  

Audrey’s Take:

I came to high school last year with only one goal—to find something I was truly passionate about that I could incorporate into my life. To achieve my goal, I joined clubs such as I Am The Difference, a community service club, and student council. Through these activities I discovered STLF and the Pay It Forward Tour. I had no idea what to expect, but I figured that I completely trusted the people advertising it and that I had nothing to lose. 

In February of 2009, I got on a bus with 22 other kids with the same mentality as me. Since that trip, South Elgin’s involvement with STLF has only increased. We doubled the number of kids on the Tour in 2010 and also started many new leadership and community service clubs. Pay It Forward has established a sense of unity and pride in our school that we hope to keep alive forever. I am determined to create a permanent place for STLF in our school so that kids after me can receive the captivating experience I fell in love with my freshman year. It was through Pay It Forward that I found myself and my passion. To this day I could say that after I got off that bus this year I gained 42 brothers and sisters and a life experience I’ll be able to share for the rest of my life.  

Danielle’s Take:

Being able to have a program like the Pay It Forward Tour has seriously changed my life. Aside from the fact that it has led me down a path that I want to continue for the rest of my life, it has genuinely and simply made me a better person. The great part is, I am notthe only one. So far, my school has had two buses embark on a serving Tour. Two buses means 60 people who have changed for the better. And yes, every single person on a Tour changes in some way or another. It’s almost as if walking onto a bus means you are willing to be the best person you can be. Sixty people has been an amazing start to my school’s chapter of the Pay It Forward Tour, but if you ask me, there is no limit on good people doing good things in the world.  

The future of STLF in my school is very important to me and to the message that is lived-out on one of these tours; to keep acts of kindness and leadership alive. Good people influence others to be good. We have started something fascinating at my high school that must continue through the participation of more great young people. I want my school to be the most humanitarian, accepting, friendly, and kind bunch of high school students you will ever meet! It is my hope that each year more and more people will try something new and life-changing. My school may be full of students, but these students will leave being leaders forever.  

In Closing:

Students leading students, that is what Students Today Leaders Forever is all about.  

To learn more about South Elgin and other High School opportunities through STLF, please e-mail Cody Nelson – cody@stlf.net.

View and Read More Recent Story Posts!