Isaiah Jobe-Winn Serves as a Panelist at Inaugural SCCPSS Student Leadership Conference

Isaiah Jobe-Winn with leaders from Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools

On February 21st, 2023, I had the opportunity to be part of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System’s inaugural Student Leadership Conference, an event that brought student leaders from across the district together for a day focused on leadership, growth, and connecting with one another.

I was still fairly early in my time at Savannah State University, and much of my involvement with SCCPSS at that point happened behind the scenes. For this event, I had the chance to assist with some of the planning and preparation alongside Ms. Sharonda Murrell and her team. It gave me an opportunity to see just how much work goes into creating an experience like this for students, from the larger vision for the day down to all of the details that have to come together to make it happen.

What made the conference even more meaningful was getting to experience it from the other side as well. In addition to helping with the event, I was invited to participate as a panelist for the Young Adult Leaders panel discussion. Alongside the other panelists, I was able to share some of my own experiences and talk with students about leadership, finding their voice, and continuing to grow as leaders within their schools and communities.

Being part of that conversation was especially meaningful because I was not too far removed from being in their shoes. I had graduated from Beach High School less than a year earlier and was still figuring out plenty about my own path. I was not there because I had leadership completely figured out, but I could speak from the experiences I had already gained as a student leader and from the people who had helped me along the way.

Looking back, I also appreciate having the opportunity to contribute to the conference in two very different ways. Helping with the planning allowed me to play a part in creating the experience, while serving on the panel gave me the chance to engage directly with the students the event was designed for. Both reinforced something I was beginning to understand about leadership: sometimes it means being the person on the stage, but a lot of the time it means doing the work behind the scenes to make sure someone else has the opportunity to shine.

The inaugural Student Leadership Conference was another example of what I have always appreciated about public education. Schools are not only places where students learn academically; they are also places where young people can discover their interests, develop confidence, find their voices, and begin to see themselves as leaders. I was fortunate to have those opportunities as an SCCPSS student, so being able to help create that kind of experience for another group of students made the day especially worthwhile.

It was a great first year for the conference, and I left grateful for the opportunity to play a part in it. More than anything, it was another reminder of what can happen when we intentionally create spaces for students to lead.