Neilson enjoyed term as student trustee

Rainy River High School senior Jay Neilson is wrapping up his second year in district politics.
Neilson, who happens to be president of RRHS student council, also is the student trustee on the Rainy River District School Board. He’s found the latter to be an eye-opening experience—one he feels he’ll draw upon for years to come.
“I learned how the board is run and how decisions happen,” he remarked.
Neilson also was expecting the board to be a tough bunch of politicians, but instead, “Everyone was a lot friendlier than expected,” he noted.
His role as student trustee took him on a journey of responsibility from one end of the district to the other. For instance, he had to liaise with the student councils of Fort Frances High School and Atikokan High School and then report back to the board.
“I learned a few things that I didn’t expect, like the different activities they do,” Neilson said, though adding many of the things the students do at each school are very similar.
While Neilson encouraged his contacts at the other two high schools to bring any concerns or beefs they might have to him to report to the board, he found the students did not have any.
Neilson also has been involved in the creation of a new body between the three schools—a student senate. Since it is in its infancy, anyone from the three schools who wants to can participate in the bi-weekly meetings on the Internet.
Neilson hopes there will be an elected senate—with representatives from each school—sometime next year.
He said student senates already exist elsewhere in Ontario but this would be the first year for one in Rainy River District.
“It is my hope that the senate will focus on issues that affect students across the board and bring them to the board,” he remarked.
Neilson said when he came into high school, he never expected to be this involved in politics but that he has enjoyed it. Whether he will be involved at the university level remains to be seen.
“I will see what opportunities present themselves,” he reasoned.
In addition to attending the monthly board meetings, Neilson also has had the opportunity to attend the English Public Board Student Trustee Conference in Toronto last year, which he said gave him a lot of ideas for this year.
Another conference is coming up this spring in Ottawa, although Neilson isn’t sure he will be able to attend it.
He said the position of student trustee usually rotates among the three district high schools.
He was fortunate enough to get two-consecutive terms, and now wants to encourage anyone interested to volunteer for it or to be involved with the proposed student senate.