3/20/08
LMA students to be movers and shakers in the state student gov’t
By Jerriod Grizzle

JERRIOD GRIZZLE/Manning Times

Celia Wilson, Ashley Hodge and Lacey Padgett stand outside of Laurence Manning Academy Friday, March 14. All three girls are officers of the South Carolina Independent School Student Government Association.

For Laurence Manning Academy students, Ashleigh Hodge, Lacey Padgett and Celia Wilson, this school year will mean putting in a little more time and effort for something that will affect all of South Carolina.

Hodge, a junior at LMA, was recently elected as president of the South Carolina Independent School Student Government Association (SCISSA) at their last meeting in Orangeburg. SCISSA is a part of the South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA).

“I was involved last year as a sophomore and this year I had a lot of people behind me on the executive council and people that knew me,” she said.

Hodge is the first female to be elected president of the council in 15 years and is the first president from LMA.

“We are proud of Ashleigh. She has great leadership skills in class and out of class and we are blessed to have her as an example to other students about the kind of people that the world wants and needs,” said Headmaster of LMA Dr. Spencer Jordan.

Hodge said that it was no small task being elected and she is ready for what the upcoming year throws her way as she deals with her new position as well as school activities and class work.

“I am a very organized person so I hope I am ready. It might be difficult to keep up at times, but it won’t be any trouble,” she said.

Hodge is already involved in several organizations including being a member of the Beta Club, Yearbook staff, Who’s Who Among High School Students and LMA’s own student council. She is an honor student as well as cheerleader.

As president, Hodge said her duties would include hosting three conferences statewide and helping to promote the message that more students need to be involved in government.

“I want to step up the involvement (of the student government association) in SCISA. I will be calling all the other private high schools across the state and telling them about why they need to participate and what it could mean for them,” she said.

SCISSA is an organization that promotes fellowship, activities and interests on a statewide basis in member schools all over the state.

Padgett and Wilson, one appointed and one elected to positions on SCISSA said they were going to work just as hard as their president to get things done.

Padgett, also a junior at LMA, was appointed to be corresponding secretary of SCISSA.

As part of Hodge’s position, she was able to appoint Padgett as the secretary.

“We have known one another since kindergarten and she knows that I can do a very good job and I have the qualities that would be very beneficial,” Padgett said.

Like Hodge, Padgett’s feelings about her new position are straightforward.

“I’ve had a large work load since I was a child and I’ve always made myself get things done,” she said.

Among other school roles, Padgett is a member of the Anchor and Beta clubs, very involved with student council, an honor student and very involved with her church youth group.

Wilson was elected to the position of historian for the association said she was absolutely ready.

“I’m up for the challenge, I can embrace it,” she said. (This was evident because Wilson was released midway through an exam for this interview.)

Wilson said that one of her biggest projects as historian was creating a scrapbook to keep a record of the school year that she was historian.

Wilson is a member of the Anchor and Chess clubs and the LMA Student Council. Wilson is an honor student who also dances and runs track.

All of the girls say they have a lot of offer the association and the other members and look forward to an exciting year.