As you probably already know, Escalante High School comes up with a new theme every year. This theme helps us achieve certain goals with each new school year. This year, the student council very quickly came up with the theme to be: Ohana.
“Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind.” Sound familiar? Well, this saying comes from one of the most adorable movies, Lilo and Stitch. I highly recommend watching it if you haven’t yet, then maybe you’ll understand why we couldn’t resist using it in our theme.
Our theme is Ohana, but what is our goal for this year, you ask? It is to become more unified than we have ever been. Ohana perfectly resembles the kind of unity we are trying to build. After years on student council, and watching prior councils try to achieve this goal, I am more determined than ever to finally achieve it.
In order to achieve this goal, we’ll have to ask some difficult questions. One question that I’ve asked myself is, “What is a Moqui?” To me being a Moqui is so much more than the sports, the programs, and even the school. It’s who I am. It is what my community is — it’s who we are, and we are a family. We are an Ohana.
Being a part of the Moqui Ohana means that no matter what circumstance we are in, we love, we support and we protect. This is our foundation — our inspiration. As an Ohana we will have each other’s backs through thick and thin.
Now, this doesn’t mean that our family is perfect; no family is perfect. It just means that we are trying our best to do better, not just by ourselves, but by the other people around us as well.
I love my school, and I love the effort we are all putting into making it just a little bit better each day. It is inspiring to see everyone growing and learning, not just from the teachers, but from each other. As the year goes on, my hope is that not one person will ever feel alone, and they will remember that they’re a part of something so much bigger: The Moqui Ohana.
– by McKynlee Cottam (17) Escalante
Feature image caption: This is Escalante High School’s 22-23 Student Body Council! You have, as pictured from left to right, Ben P. (Secretary), Madi W. (Historian), McKynlee C. (President), Nadia G. (Activities Director), and Colton W. (Vice President). Courtesy McKynlee Cottam.
McKynlee Cottam – Escalante
McKynlee Cottam is a junior writer, and sometimes editor, at The Byway. She is a senior at Escalante High School. This year she’s had the opportunity to be the school’s Student Body President and Miss Garfield’s Outstanding Teen. McKynlee loves to write about things that are going on in our county and world, as well as some fun out-of-hat pieces. She enjoys playing the violin, participating in basketball, and of course hanging out with her friends. The Byway has been a fun part of her life, and she hopes to keep contributing to it for some time!