FCS Unscripted
Sharing information about, and the stories behind, #Every1 in Franklin County Schools in Frankfort, Kentucky.
FCS Unscripted
Empowering Student Voices with Elle Bevington and Stephen Lemon
Ever wondered how young leaders balance school, entrepreneurship, and community service? Meet Elle Bevington and Stephen Lemon, our star student board members from Franklin County High School and Western Hills High School. Elle, a senior, is not just class president but also an entrepreneur running her own gift shop, Neat Down South. Stephen, a junior, is diving headfirst into dual-enrollment courses while sharing his culinary adventures on his YouTube channel, Chef Lemonhead. Join us for a lively chat where they reveal their secrets to juggling it all and making a real impact in their schools.
Elle takes us on a journey from an empty corner of her parents’ dealership to running a bustling gift shop known for its last-minute treasures and school spirit wear. Meanwhile, Stephen serves up his favorite culinary creation, a mouthwatering steak sandwich, and talks about how his YouTube channel fuels his passion for cooking. From student leadership and entrepreneurial endeavors to personal growth, this episode promises a hearty serving of inspiration straight from the lives of two of Franklin County's brightest young minds. Tune in to hear how they're using their roles to bridge the gap between students and the Board of Education, making sure every student voice is heard.
Welcome to FCS Unscripted, a new podcast for One Team, fcs, where we look at the stories behind every one in Franklin County schools. Well, hello everyone, this is Superintendent Kopp with another episode of FCS Unscripted, and it's a fun one today because I have two students with me. We've got two wonderful students that represent their schools on the Board of Education. They are actually our student board members. So today we have Ellie Bevington from Franklin County High School. Welcome, ellie.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:And we have Stephen Lemon from Western Hills High School. Thank you for having me. Hey, you know this is going to be fun. I think they're a little nervous, but we're going to. It's going to be fine. I promise it's not going to be. You're not going to be in the hot seat too long, okay? And plus, these two just learned that we have an NTI day tomorrow, so they're a little excited, right?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's the first I've heard of it, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, very good, yeah, just announced it was hot off the press. So, as student board members just so that everyone, our listeners, know what this is they represent our schools as voices to the board of education. They share updates that are going on with the schools. If there are any concerns, they share those with the board members and they act as a conduit, basically, between students and our Board of Education. And they're wonderful leaders and I want to ask some questions about them and about being student board members. So first I'm going to start with you, ellie. Kind of tell us a little bit about yourself and then we'll go from there.
Speaker 2:I am a senior at Franklin County and I am senior class president this year, so I get to experience a lot of cool things at Franklin County, put on a lot of cool things and services to the school. I work with Mr Terry Johnson and my fellow officers, so the experiences that I've gained through that have just been wonderful. I have a little gift shop in Frankfort called Neat Down South that many people recognize me for, but aside from that I am a member on the golf team and tennis team and am in several clubs at Franklin County.
Speaker 1:That's awesome and I'm in several clubs at Franklin County. That's awesome. And Mr Johnson, by the way, has sat in that same seat in this podcasting deal. We did a great episode with him last year. It was a lot of fun. So, Stephen, tell us about yourself.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so my name is Stephen Lemon. I go to Western Hills. I'm a junior, I'm doing the BCA program. It's called the Bluegrass College Academy and so I get it's basically dual credit. I get to attend high school and college and when I graduate I get my associates and my high school diploma. I'm treasurer of our local FFA chapter. I also have a YouTube channel called Chef Lemonhead, if you want to subscribe on. Youtube. I post YouTube cooking like little shorts of me cooking something like I like to do.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, that's a little bit about me. I mean, you two are entrepreneurs, I mean really, and it's pretty cool. So I want to ask you about both of those things, because those are so unique for students. First of all, with the cooking channel, stephen, what was your favorite thing that you've ever cooked as a video?
Speaker 3:That's a hard one because you know I've made a lot of videos. I like everything I make usually, so if I had to choose, you do you have to choose? I'll do one. I guess I made a steak sandwich not too long ago, probably last year, toward the end of last year. It was pretty good.
Speaker 1:Nice. Now tell us about Neat Down South and how that got started and what's your favorite part of that.
Speaker 2:Well, I'll tell you the quick story. So a few years ago well at 15, I wanted to start up a small business and I've seen my parents run their small business and I wasn't sure where I wanted to start. But they had some unused space at their car dealership. So I decided to start small with some little gifts that people could stop by for last minute. And we've branched out into doing lots of school wear. So we make fun shirts for all of the schools in town and that's probably one of my favorite parts.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. That's so great. I appreciate hearing that about both of you guys. So let me ask you a question about being a student board member. What do you find is like, the most interesting part of being a student board member? We'll start with you, ellie.
Speaker 2:Okay, I think that the most interesting part is kind of hearing the stuff that I probably don't hear about if I wasn't a student board member. So I go see Mr Tracy each month and ask him about the things that he would like me to talk about, and then I talk about those things at the board meeting and it's cool being able to recognize the people that are doing cool stuff at our school. I also reach out to some friends who are in different clubs each week or each month and it's just cool to see the great things that students at Franklin County are doing and being able to recognize that I love it.
Speaker 1:What about you, Stephen?
Speaker 3:For me, I guess the main part is, like similar to Ella, is the fact that I just get to get a lot of information. I'm not as connected into the school as I was previously, so I get a lot of new information as well. The opportunity to get practice speaking to a group of people that I don't usually get to have.
Speaker 1:What's the most challenging part of it? We'll start with you, Stephen.
Speaker 3:Definitely getting to have to speak. It's a blessing and a curse, if you want to say that at the same time, you know. I mean it's a challenge, but I also get to learn.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. What about you, Ellie?
Speaker 2:I would also say the same thing as him, but I think it's also hard being able to recognize everyone who deserves their recognition. I don't ever want to leave any club or sports team out of the picture, and so that's kind of hard to make sure that I come across with everything that I want to talk about each month.
Speaker 1:So what's your favorite part of your school? What is your absolute favorite part about being a Franklin County Flyer?
Speaker 2:My favorite part about being a Flyer are the traditions. I think that all of our dances are very special and I know that if you've gone to Franklin County before, you know that we put everything in to all of our dances, whether it's a sock hop, a homecoming dance. I love the school spirit that we have and I have a lot of fun at all of the games that we go to. I just think we have really good spirit and tradition.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cool Steven.
Speaker 3:Definitely the students. Everyone is different and so you could just walk around the halls, get to talk to new people and it's a whole new, different story. You just get to learn about everybody's lives and get a different, like viewpoint. And so it's just very fun to talk to them.
Speaker 1:So let's ask this question as we start to get into fun facts. Fun facts, oh yeah, that's. That's the fun facts sound effect. Who is your favorite teacher at Western Hill? Steven?
Speaker 3:Probably I'll go with Mr.
Speaker 1:Jenner Okay, allner Okay, all right Fair.
Speaker 2:Mine's, miss Hurley. I stepped out of my comfort zone this year to join the choir. I'm a big music girl, um, but I never thought I could sing, and so she got me to join this year and it's been one of my favorite classes and her energy every day is just amazing.
Speaker 1:Awesome, awesome. All right, so some now non-school-related fun facts. These are just fun things, so you can relax. Now. What is your favorite food, ellie?
Speaker 2:I like Mexican food a lot.
Speaker 1:Anything in particular.
Speaker 2:I get queso every time I go.
Speaker 1:Well, of course, yeah, steven. What about you?
Speaker 3:We'll say chicken, I love chicken, it's so versatile, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Fried chicken, baked chicken yeah, arbolito chicken.
Speaker 1:So, Steven, we'll start with you on question number two what is your favorite movie of all time?
Speaker 3:I'll go Ratatouille.
Speaker 1:Oh, good one. The Disney World ride about Ratatouille is great, by the way down at Epcot or whatever, so anyway.
Speaker 2:Mine is probably Crossroads. It's on Netflix.
Speaker 1:I don't know that one, no Godfather. I mean, ratatouille is about cooking, so that's kind of I don't know that one, no Godfather.
Speaker 3:I mean, Ratatouille is about cooking, so that's kind of why I like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's cool, that's cool, all right. What is your favorite television show of all time? Ellie?
Speaker 2:I love Emily in Paris because I take French at Franklin County and so it's kind of fun to connect what I know and what they talk about.
Speaker 3:That's cool, steven. Probably Clone Wars. I like Star Wars.
Speaker 1:All right. Last question, and then you're off the hot seat Music. If you had to choose and say this is my favorite musical group, who would it be? Steven?
Speaker 3:Don't listen to music a lot, though, so if I had to choose, um, that's hard, um, I'll probably say like a worship group, like Maverick city or like elevation, okay, cool, yeah, ellie.
Speaker 2:I'm going to have to go with the lumineers.
Speaker 1:The lumineers oh, solid, that's good. Well, you guys are off the hot seat now, so that's good. And hey, this has been fun getting to know you guys a little bit. For all of our listeners out there, these kids are amazing. They're representative of all of our students in Franklin County Schools. These two are exceptional and we're so proud of the work that you do and I wanted to thank you for the time that you put in, so I appreciate you being on and I hope you guys have a wonderful NTI day tomorrow and uh, yeah, so we catch you again. Thank you guys. Thank you, thank you and uh, everyone, have a great, safe uh time tomorrow in the snow and uh, we will catch you soon. We will catch you soon.