The focus of the California Association of Student Councils, more commonly known as CASC, is to raise the future leaders of tomorrow. Everyone who attends the camp gets a one-in-a-lifetime chance to learn about each other, openly share their thoughts, and idealize their futures. For me, CASC was an opportunity to think about how to become a better leader and to reflect on my true motivations. It finally gave me the chance to explore myself, my ideas, and my attributes.

In addition, I learned more about teamwork in the three days I attended CASC than I have in my entire life. One would think that a leadership camp would focus completely on the individual, but I learned a lot about how to cooperate with my CASC family and literally reach for my goals with other people. The somewhat bizarre assignments we accomplished, such as preventing an egg from cracking and building a tall tower from paper, encouraged us to collaborate with people we had just met, and helped us to foster our growing talents for cooperation. I was able to truly realize the power of people from different backgrounds and ethnicities coming together to achieve a common goal.

All these individually simple activities came together to become a touching three-day experience that I will never forget. What started as a straightforward leadership camp eventually proved itself to be an eye-opening milestone in my life.

<Ashley Kim New Covenant Academy 9th Grade>