Panther Leadership Council provides more students an opportunity to get involved

Panther Leadership Council, or PLC, is a class made up of 25 students, in addition to nine student-elected Student Council Association officers, who represent the student body at large. The goals of PLC include creating more leadership roles in which students can get involved, increasing the voice of the masses, and assisting in the work of the SCA. PLC is headed by Lexi Swinimer, who has sponsored SCA for the past five years, and Samantha Hill, who came to Potomac Falls from John Champe in 2016.

“I think it’s important to have many students be the voice of the masses, and I wanted to bring that concept to Potomac Falls.  Having more members in the leadership group, with more backgrounds, ideas, and experiences, offers a more diverse approach to all things,” said Hill.

The SCA put a call out for students to join a senate last spring to get more students involved in decision making and the planning of some of the schools’ biggest events.

“They weren’t a part of the class, but they would help us in the mornings,” said Swinimer. “The success of senate propelled [PLC].”

The success of senate paired with the vision of new principal, Brandon Wolfe, laid the foundation for the class. Hill, who was in her first year at Potomac Falls, had experience with a large-scale leadership program both at Champe and in Fairfax County, and was interested in getting involved by bringing the program here.

“When I took on SCA at John Champe, it was still a growing school with smaller enrollment numbers.  We had already established a larger class at Champe, and it further proved my desire to make that happen for the Panthers,” said Hill.

One of the biggest differences between PLC and SCA is that SCA officers are elected by their peers, and PLC members apply via teacher recommendation.

“I had no idea about this class,” said council member Tahmina Yusufzai. “Mrs. Jens recommended me.”

Since SCA officer positions are still in place, they now work together with the PLC.

“The expansion has helped us get more organized and we have gotten in touch with different groups around the school,” said SCA vice president Josie Roberts. “I feel like we are more organized than last year and it’s definitely a relief [that] we have more hands.”