This year South has completely revamped its student leadership. Formerly known individually as Student Council and Renaissance, both leadership programs have combined to form Patriot Representatives, or PREPS.

The program was created to allow students in leadership roles time during school hours to work on tasks and planning.

“The goal was to be able to get students who might not be able to do work outside of school involved, and allow for training and leadership activities to improve student leadership at South. There is both a leadership ac lab and class and students in the program must be in one or the other” one sponsor, English teacher Melissa Gebhard said.

The program consists of both elected members and specially selected students.

“Elected members (ie: student body president, vice president, etc.) are strongly encouraged to participate in either the class or ac lab; however, there are also students involved who were recommended by teachers, or who showed strong interest in pursuing a leadership role at South,” Gebhard said.

Senior Alison Loosmore said she is passionate about the change in student leadership and hopes that it emphasizes the voices of students and leads to a significant change in our school and community.

“I love being able to have a say in what we do at school and having my opinion heard when making decisions. This year is a really important year for leadership because with the PREPS program it is much more student-led than past years where administrators and teachers played a stronger role in student-led activities,” she said.

She pointed out many events that have been made possible due to PREPS this year.

“This year we held a movie night, planned Homecoming, given out #psouthproud to teachers, and Student of the Day awards, as well as every month there will be a community service project that all students can be involved in” Loosmoore said.

Senior Vice President of Spirit, Nolan Lombardo is part of the PREPS Ac. Lab.

“Dr. Wilhelm really inspired me to get involved. Being able to have a voice in creating spirit days and working in conjunction with the Patriot Posse has allowed me to help bring spirit back to Parkway South. The best part is watching the whole school go all out on the spirit days, it’s a super rewarding experience,” Lombardo said.

Lombardo believes that the PREPS program is a great way to involve more students and increase the culture at South.

“Being able to work with so many different people in the PREPS Ac. Lab, talking to friends, or just about anyone allows us to let all kinds of voices to be heard and provide for a change. Meeting during school also encourages the creation and execution of new ideas, events, and service projects. For example, this year I put together a future patriots night,” he said.