AWHS leadership is composed of four groups, all focused on different goals: Associated Student Body (ASB) focuses on budgeting and event planning, Students Taking Action Against Racism (STAAR) strives to create a safe campus environment for minority students, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) helps students prepare for college, and Peer Resource (PR) focuses on peer support and education on mental and physical health. This year, all four leadership groups combined into “ASAP,” an acronym for “ASB, STAAR, AVID, and PR.” 

AWHS senior and PR member Whitney Fredrickson thinks ASAP is a way for different groups to learn from one another.

“If there is a huge project and you need support from people who are specialized in different things then [ASAP] is super beneficial for that,” Whitney said.

Whitney says that, despite groups working on different projects, ASAP unifies them for the common interest of AWHS. 

“[ASAP’s goal is] to bring all the leadership groups together so we could communicate about different things in an easier way,” Whitney said.

Whitney is hopeful that ASAP will bring more recognition to all leadership groups, not just ASB.

  “ASAP can help in raising awareness that ASB isn’t the only leadership group that we have here. Yes, they plan things and they do a lot of great things but there are also these three other groups that have their specialties that should be open resources for everyone to access,” Whitney said.

ASB advisor Karen Gladysz says the beauty of ASAP is all about differentiation in positions. ASAP brings new dimensions to school leadership sponsored activities. 

“All leadership groups on campus have a slightly different lens they look through to accomplish this, but together we can do so much more when we look at an issue from diverse perspectives,” Gladysz said.

According to Gladysz, collaboration from ASAP can make school events more inclusive to minority students and safer for those struggling with mental health issues. 

“When we [ASB] can share these ideas with the other leadership groups and get their perspectives, we are able to make the event more inclusive and meaningful,” Gladysz said.

Jane Adams, current AWHS sophomore and STAAR member, similar to Whitney and Gladysz, believes bringing together all leadership groups will bring a new sense of awareness about issues students deal with. 

“ASAP is a great way for all the teams to come together, I think that a lot of positive change could come out of all leadership classes working together,” Jane said.

With the creation of ASAP, AWHS leadership groups hope to encourage inclusivity on campus and bring more awareness to school events.