MCEC Holds 5th Annual Student Leadership Summit

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Military Child Education Coalition® (MCEC®) held their 5th annual San Antonio Student 2 Student® (S2S™) Summit & Jamboree on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, on the University of Texas at San Antonio’s (UTSA) main campus, in partnership with UTSA and H-E-B. Over 100 students from 18 local schools participated in this unique leadership event. The opening session included greetings from Taylor Cole on behalf of Belinda Harmon, UTSA Director of Community Outreach and Transfer Recruitment and Dr. Michael Logan, UTSA Senior Director of Veteran and Military Affairs.

“Our students had a wonderful time and enjoyed meeting those from other schools. I truly wish every student had the opportunity to meet others from all over the world. It would open their eyes to social and economic differences, from those who struggle with just basic necessities to receive what many of us take for granted.” ​Jose L. Flores – Judson Career Counselor and Military Resilience Counselor, Judson ISD

The highlight of the morning was a presentation by S2S teams from Roosevelt High School, Randolph High School, and Nimitz Middle School, with their interpretations of S2S core values: Leadership, Finding the Way, Academics, Service, Relationships, and 100% Acceptance.

The S2S Leadership summit is a one-day event where S2S teams in the San Antonio Area come together to develop leadership skills, gain knowledge to improve and sustain their S2S programs, network with other S2S programs, and develop as a team.

Established by MCEC in 2004, S2S is a student-led and faculty-advised program with the mission to take care of new students at the high school, middle/junior high school, or elementary levels. An S2S program introduces the new students to campus, culture, and community and impacts the entire student body by uniting the campus to create a culture of inclusion. The desired results are improved academic performance and positive peer-to-peer interactions.

Participating schools included: Canyon High School, Churchill High School, Cole High School, Davenport High School, Hill Country Preparatory High School, Johnson High School, Judson High School, Judson Early College Academy, L.E.E. High School, MacArthur High School, Madison High School, Nimitz Middle School, Pieper High School, Randolph High School, Reagan High School, Roosevelt High School, Stacey High School, and Wagner High School.

This event was generously funded by H-E-B, Military-Civilian Charitable Foundation, UTSA, and MCEC. Students or education professionals who would like to learn more about the S2S program can find more information here.