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Another month has flown by up here in Alleghany County. I’ve been incredibly busy with school this semester. I’ve got some rather tough courses: Advanced Placement calculus and AP English. I have quite a bit of homework at night, so I miss out on some of the fun stuff (not exactly setting hay bales on fire, however). Anyway, I should be hearing back from colleges soon. I did get accepted into UNC Wilmington, but I haven’t heard from anyone else yet. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

In other news, the Student Council has also been extremely active this year. I am president of the organization, and I have learned a lot about leadership and serving others. I will admit, I have hit a few bumps in the road, and I’ve also found that things are not always as easy as they may seem. The Student Council was able to raise over $1,000 for the annual Pennies for Patients drive at our high school. The money raised is given to the Lymphoma Leukemia Society. The Student Council also took part in collecting gifts to give to the patients at the local nursing home. We were very successful in both activities, and I would just like to say that I am very proud to be a part of the organization, and I am also very proud of the council members for their hard work.

Another cool thing we did this year was have a pep rally on the school roof. No, I’m not lying. The Student Council is mostly responsible for organizing the pep rallies and the assemblies that take place at the school. We always try to provide a new and exciting element to our festivities as a way to avoid doing the same old things. Our advisor suggested we hold an upcoming pep rally from the roof of the school. I first thought that the likelihood of this happening was slim to none, but our principal was more than supportive. We held the pep rally before school was dismissed on the Friday before the game. It was awesome to say the least. Some of the football players and I stood on top of the roof and led the pep rally. It was awesome to be a part of the first pep rally on the school roof.

Our current project is to raise money for a marquee sign that will be placed at the intersection not far from the school. It seems that all other schools in the surrounding area have one, so the Student Council has decided to raise money for our own. We’re going to be hosting events in hopes to raise money and also are asking for donations. The sign costs almost $7,000 dollars, and we hope to have it up by the end of the year. Wish us luck.

As you all know, I am the National Spokesperson for the Youth Leadership Council which is sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The annual meeting for all electric cooperatives is coming up this month. I will be in Atlanta Feb. 12–17. As part of being the spokesperson, I will give a speech while I am there in front of about 10,000 people, so I’m just a little nervous about that. I also found out the speech will be streamed live over the Internet, so maybe you guys will be able to see me.

Thanks again for reading. Y’all are the best. Have a good month, and I’ll talk to ya soon. God bless.

Jacob Brooks is a high school senior in Alleghany County. Representing Blue Ridge Electric, he is the national spokesman for the electric cooperatives’ Youth Leadership Council and is scheduled to speak to the national convention of electric cooperatives in Atlanta this month.

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