professional environment and part of it is professional. And you get to know people more. Q: Have you learned any skills that you think will help you as you pursue your education and career? Confidence for sure. I think the biggest thing is preparedness, or preparation, because I have to know what is going on before I speak about it while I’m being recorded on camera. I have to be able to articulate what I’m saying in a way that is understood by others. B
C A Grant Walling, a student representative on the Bellville ISD school board, said attending txEDCON 2024 with the other members was a great bonding experience. B Walling and other students gather for Senior Sunrise, where seniors watch the sunrise together on their last “first day” of school. C Through the Bucket Calf Project, Walling mentored pre-K to second-grade students during his four years of high school. He met with students, helping them learn to handle their calves. Photos courtesy of Ashley Walling
multiple times by students. Even though for me, myself, it wouldn’t bother me if I had to put my phone up every class. Q: What has it been like working with the other board members? I got to go to San Antonio for txEDCON 2024. That was a big thing for me.I think being in San Antonio with the board, tightening relationships with everyone on the board, part of it is not a
Q: What type of time commitment does your service require? The board meets twice a month: once for agenda review and once for the board meeting. And there’s some months where with work I’ll either go to an agenda review or a board meeting. Sometimes I can’t do both, but that’s just part of juggling. I think over the summer I got a lot more done than during the school year. Because over the school year, it’s more just budget workshops, budget reports, agenda reviews, and board meetings. Q: What is the one thing you’ve learned from your time on the board that you think you will always remember? I will always remember the time, effort, and professionalism put into moving a kid from pre-K, not knowing how to read and write, and getting them all the way through high school and graduating knowing how to do AP calculus. That’s a whole lot for a kid to take in in that time. Whether it’s literal logistics of buses and food or the mental logistics of getting teachers ready to get these students to graduate high school. Q: What strategies do you employ to balance your academic and extracurricular responsibilities with your duties as a board member? I’m constantly thinking about things. With juggling this, I think the best thing is to focus on [whatever I’m doing], you know. “Okay, I’m looking at board stuff right now.” Or “I’m doing math homework right now.” Compartmentalizing everything and slowing down. Slow down with what I’m saying and reading. And that is really life in general. I need to make sure I take everything in context and not jump from important thing to important thing.
Q: What challenges have you encountered during your time on the board? The biggest challenge I think is relaying information effectively and speaking effectively and in a way that’s understood. Especially when I started, I had to get out of my country slang and speak in more professional terms. I think it will help me with jobs, any jobs I get because of the professionalism of it. You can state your opinions, but they have to be [shared] in a professional way. Q: For school boards and districts that don’t have a program like this but might be considering it, what would you tell them? I think it’s a great program. I would jump on it because the amount of insight that is brought to the board is unmatched, because clearly no one on the board is a student. You bring all this student perspective and insight that you wouldn’t get otherwise. Q: What else would you like people to know about your time on the board? I think it has been one of the most gratifying things that I have ever done. You know, it’s also gotten me to follow my dreams. I’ve always wanted to be a fighter pilot. And for a while there I was like, I can’t be a fighter pilot. I think being on the board, I realized I need to do what I want, otherwise I’ll regret it in 15 or 20 years. It has also shown me I can handle more than I thought I could — board, school, work, horses — it’s shown me that I am more capable than I thought in that regard. I’m working on getting my pilot’s license now. Four years ago, I didn’t think I could handle that and school and work. I didn’t even know I was going to be on the board. So yeah, it’s gratifying. It’s hard work, and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.H Mary Ann Lopez is a staff writer for Texas Lone Star.
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