Parth Karande and Denise Jaimes, seniors at Dalton High School, recently attended the annual National LEAD (Leadership, Experience, And Development) Spark Conference in Washington, D.C.

The conference was presented by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP.)

Karande and Jaimes both serve as officers in Dalton High's National Honor Society, an organization created by the NASSP with the goal of hearing student voices.

The National Honor Society empowers and equips students with the knowledge and skills to be transformative leaders in their school, community, and beyond.

According to the NASSP, "These past few years have been marked by radical change to our education system, and it’s never been more important that students have a strong voice in how our schools can best serve them."

LEAD Spark 2023 brought together student leaders from across the country to learn from their peers, hear from experts, and take their leadership skills to the next level.

 "The speakers motivated us to do more, go out there, and let our voices be heard," Karande said.

As President of Dalton High's National Honor Society, Karande was chosen to take part in a more in-depth leader training. Out of 500 students, only 80 were chosen for this exclusive session.

Karande said the conference taught him what an impact he can make with a small vision or goal.

"You don't have to have money or resources to start something big," Karande said. "You can start with something small and grow it, creating a big impact eventually as a result of your own hard work and passion." 

On the last day of the conference, the students were brought together to discuss the things they wanted to bring home and implement in their schools.

Jaimes said she has already started including ideas from the conference in her school schedule by participating in "Wellness Wednesdays" where she chooses an activity to help improve herself each Wednesday.

"The last two speakers were very engaging," Jaimes said. "They shared that we [students] are the voice, and we are where the change starts. That was very inspiring to me."