Ella Davis and Molly Wheeler - Student Leadership Project

In this episode, we shine a spotlight on an exciting leadership project taking place at the high school—one that goes beyond our district and brings students together in a meaningful way. This collaborative effort unites several of our students with peers from Brooklyn High School, showcasing the power of teamwork and communication.

Hear directly about how this partnership came to life, what students are learning through the experience, and the impact it’s having both inside and outside the classroom. This episode highlights the importance of student voice, leadership development, and building connections across communities.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:08

Welcome to Voices of the Nest, the official podcast of North Olmstead City Schools. We're excited to bring you conversations that celebrate the people who make our district such a special place to learn, work, and grow. In each episode, we'll highlight the voices that shape our school community, sharing their experiences, passions, and the impact they've made both in and beyond our classrooms. Whether you're listening from a classroom, your morning commute, or the comfort of your home, we're glad you're here. So let's get started and welcome to Voices of the Nest. Hello, North Homestead. I'm your co-host, Amy Rutledge, the communications coordinator for the district. And of course, I'm joined here with our other co-host, Superintendent Chris Kalaris.

SPEAKER_04 0:53

Hello, everybody.

SPEAKER_03 0:55

So today we are going to highlight a leadership project taking place at the high school. But before we get into that, we do have two students that are here with us that are part of that project. That's correct, Chris, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:08

Yes, that's right. Today we have Molly Wheeler and Ella Davis, both of our seniors, and they're participating in the leadership experience with us. Ella and Molly, welcome to Voices of the Nest. How are you?

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Great. How are you?

SPEAKER_04 1:22

I am good. Thanks for having me. Molly, how are you?

SPEAKER_01 1:25

I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_04 1:26

All right, very good. Before we start talking about the leadership project, I thought since we have Molly, you've been here since middle school. Ella, you've been here since kindergarten. I just wanted to give an opportunity for you guys to talk about maybe some of the teachers you've had, or staff members, could be anybody, that you really felt had an impact on you since you've been here, right? You're both two of our two great students. You do so many things. You're involved in extracurriculars. Um, your names are always spoken of highly amongst your teachers and principals. So, you know, you know, as they're shaking their head, everybody can see it. Like, yes, we know, we know, we know. But who are some of the staff members, teachers, everyone that you really feel um when you look back on, you're not done yet. You got a couple more months here, a few more months, that you're you want to say almost thank you to?

SPEAKER_02 2:16

I've had probably two that I could thank the most. My sixth grade math teacher, Miss Maloney. Shout out, Miss Maloney. Um, I really liked her because she like appreciated every student and like made sure everyone was included and made it more than just like boring math class. Like math can get boring, but she made sure like we were all good. And that was also during peak COVID, too. Like that's when we got called off, and she still made it a point to like continue on with the learning and everyone like always felt included. And also Dr. Padovic in the high school as well. Like he doesn't just focus on in school, like he makes sure that you're set up to like do well in your future and that he like actually cares about what you're planning on doing past high school.

SPEAKER_04 2:58

Those are two great choices, both of those are great teachers, and they do a lot for many of our students, but those are two definitely to highlight. Ella?

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Well, first I want to thank Mr. Claris, who's my first principal here at Butternut. I definitely want to thank Ms. Jacko from Butternut as well. Back when I went here, she's just a great person overall, and I'm super glad that I got to have her as well as Miss Barr and Miss Piero. Those were two of my favorite people from Pine. They just always uplifted you. They remember faces, they'll remember you. They'll just always bring out, bring out the best side in people, and that's really important, I feel like. And then in high school, Miss Fleischer, obviously, she was my uh choice for teacher appreciation night um during volleyball. That's pretty self-explanatory. You hear great things about her. Um, and I think you should continue to hear great things about her.

SPEAKER_04 3:50

Very good. Any moments you want to highlight, like a positive moment you've had that you're like, this is something that I remember and I'm going to remember, and I know it was a positive moment that I had, whether it's in middle school for you, Molly, and high school and Ella, any grades that you were in?

SPEAKER_01 4:07

I remember getting the positive banana or the golden banana in Miss Maloney's class.

SPEAKER_04 4:13

Golden banana? All right. Very good. How about you, Molly? Anything else?

SPEAKER_02 4:18

Uh, more recently, like this past season of volleyball, we had a really great season, one of the best records in a while. And me and Ella got to captain together along with our friend Alyssa, which is really fun. And it was just a really good season overall.

SPEAKER_04 4:30

Yeah, you guys had a great season. Those are some fun games to come to. I enjoyed watching you play. It always makes me nervous watching you play because I can't do any of that. And then, you know, just there's a lot of people jumping and blocking and doing all that volleyball stuff. So totally understand. Well, thank you for sharing. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 4:47

I mentioned earlier today we are highlighting a leadership project that's taking place specifically at the high school. And this leadership project is a collaboration between several of our students here at North Olmstead, but also a group of students at Brooklyn High School. So, Superintendent Clares, can you tell us a little bit more about this collaboration, how it came about, sort of the planning stages in order for it to launch?

SPEAKER_04 5:12

Yeah, it's called the Eagle Student Leadership Project, an empowerment project, actually. And the partnership with Brooklyn became because my brother is the superintendent at Brooklyn, and they've been doing it for a couple years now. And he told me about how there's some positive components to do it when when you know they work through some of the leadership training and then at the end create a capstone project. So I was an easy way when he asked, Hey, do you want to have some of your students join us? So that's really how it started. I think the goal of the project is for um students like Molly and Ella to really maybe get something out of it from a leadership component capacity, give back a little bit. Um, I think it's important to work um through work with other students maybe that aren't in your district. It prepares them for afterward when they're working with different people. Um, you know, students were selected ultimately by Mr. Koontz, uh, some feedback from others there. And uh they're meeting, um, I think you've met three times already. They'll meet a couple more, a couple more times this year. I think we have about 20 students involved. Maybe I might be off a little bit on that number, but it's definitely um a great opportunity for for all the students involved.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

So you talked about the process in which students are selected and inviting students. Obviously, this was optional for students uh if they were invited. So, Molly and Ella, can you tell us a little bit about what inspired you to get involved and take advantage of this opportunity?

SPEAKER_02 6:47

We have both been involved in several leadership opportunities and were like captains of our team. So I was super excited to like learn more. And also, it was mainly for to like empower the younger students as well. So for us to be able to like lead the way and help not just learn, but also lead others to like become future leaders like us was really exciting to me.

SPEAKER_04 7:11

Yeah, that's that's and I think that's part of it too, just to have Molly said it better than I ever can. Um, but that's exactly right. Like trying to get them to also, because there's students with different grades, it's not just seniors like yourselves, and just to also have that role model be that role model in the room for them too. So that's a good point.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Yeah, I agree with Molly. It was really fun being like a couple of the only seniors that are in the group, and it really shows like how much of an impact we can have on um the younger kids in our group as well.

SPEAKER_04 7:45

Yeah, I agree. So you had your first meeting, and Mr. Burton, who used to be an educational superintendent, runs the meeting. And I know he was at the talk us, talk to me a little bit about maybe if you can remember the first meeting or even your recent meeting was at Brooklyn too. Tell me something that was a highlight for you and kind of what you were working on.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Um, one of the highlights for me was actually just getting to meet new people there. Um, he really pushes you to go out of your comfort zone and like make sure, like, oh, you're not sitting next to someone from your school, you're not partners with someone from your school. Like he really, really heavily pushed that on us. And I know it made a lot of people uncomfortable. I mean, it made me uncomfortable at our first meeting, but overall, I feel like that was just like one of the things that stuck out to me because he just really values like getting to know everyone and being comfortable with everyone and open.

SPEAKER_02 8:34

Yeah, and he focuses on all of us like learning what leadership means to certain people. So, one of my favorite projects we've done so far is a leadership acrostic. So we had to fill out what L in leadership stood for. That was really like exciting and interesting to me because a group of everyone coming together, like with different perspectives of what they think leadership is. I thought that was a really cool way to like open your eyes to more than just what I think leadership is.

SPEAKER_04 9:03

Those are great points, and that's exactly, I think, probably what he wants from that group. Tell me what you think it's like been just collaborating with uh students from another school district that's maybe not in your circle, right? They're not a neighboring school district. I mean, they're close, it's not far, but you know, they may you're not playing volleyball against them or different things. So tell me how that's been to go to a different place and how that's made you feel too.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

It's just it's really fun. And it's kind of scary at first, obviously going to a school. I mean, they're not they're close, but they're not people we see often, and it's really great like actually seeing other perspectives, um, and just again going out of your comfort zone and just meeting new people.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

Yeah, one of the most like our most recent time we got together, we did this one activity where we had to like group up with random people, and then eventually it led to us like having to sit in a circle like next to people or even getting extra close to people that we never knew, which is really exciting because we get to hear about different people's stories and just interact with people that we probably wouldn't know if we never did this.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Yeah, and it's great, like after the first meeting, it was like awkward, but I feel like now doing those kinds of activities is just keeps helping because we've gotten to know each other a little more. It's not as awkward as it was before. So I feel like the bonds are definitely building and we'll continue to keep building.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

So throughout that, because you're forming relationships, and relationships is a word that we talk about as school leaders. Um, it's all about relationships with students, with each other, um getting to know one another. What similarities and differences have you learned from interacting with students with Brooklyn?

SPEAKER_02 10:53

That's a good question. I know in our most recent meeting, we were at Brooklyn and we got to see some of the things that their school offers that like we don't have. They while we were there, they were having it was like different culture week. So e groups of students would sit outside classrooms and talk about different cultures and their like different experiences. And I thought that was really cool because that's not something we have. So it was cool to see that their school embraces like their differences.

SPEAKER_01 11:23

Yeah, I agree. It was just fun seeing like things obviously like we don't have or some things we have that they don't like when they come to our school, they're like, oh, we don't have this, we don't do this. And it's obviously, I mean, it's not always a bad thing. It's just it's fun seeing different perspectives of what other people go through at school and see every single day.

SPEAKER_03 11:42

Yeah, it's interesting how much we can learn from each other in different environments, even just being in a different school building, a different high school, I'm sure you notice differences just in facilities and and what, you know, you're in a nice, beautiful high school and and not everybody has that. So um, you know, throughout this process, leadership and I'm sure communication has been a big um two big topics. What leadership or communication skills have you developed throughout this process or um maybe improved on throughout this process?

SPEAKER_02 12:16

I definitely feel that like he's definitely really good about making sure that you're talking, as Ella mentioned earlier, to like people you've never talked to before. And there's several, there's like you see the same faces every time, but it's been a while since you've seen everyone. So it's it's really good that we are challenged to go talk to someone we've or go sit next to someone we've never talked to or sat next to. And it's a good skill that I'm gonna carry on like in my future because you need to talk to new people every day.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Yeah, I agree. It's really fun seeing different faces all the time and always having to collaborate with someone new. And even if you are with someone from your school, like you may might not know exactly who they are. Like with us, we're seniors, but there's some freshmen who I've obviously never met before, but it's really fun meeting other people and collaborating with them. And another thing um also is like the participation aspect. He always tries to make sure everyone participates. And like if there's someone who's being quiet, he tries to like push them out of their comfort zone. And that's something that I really enjoyed personally.

unknown 13:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:22

And I think when I've had a chance to go to visit all of you, it's been really kind of fun to see how the group is so, you know, you're not just with North Holmstead students, right? It's mixed intentionally with different students and you're working in different areas because that's part of it. And I think that makes it even that more beneficial. Is there anything, like last question maybe on the well, we'll have one more after a commercial break, but not yet. Um, is there anything that surprised you maybe throughout this experience? Like maybe just surprised you about the experience, or maybe surprised you about yourself? Because you know yourself going into an experience like this where you're you're saying, wow, I'm surprised by all that.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

One of the very first activities we ever did was how much we like are truly listening to someone because he really is good about like learning someone's name or saying hi to someone new. But he we did this challenge of like we actually remembered what the person was saying to us. We he challenged us to actually remember their name, remember something about them. And that was really important to me because yeah, you listen to people talk all the time, but like being intentional about actually actively listening to them is was something that honestly surprised that I wasn't doing as well as I thought.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Yeah, going off of that, um, there was one time I was talking to the Brooklyn athletic director. Um, this was our fast meeting, actually, and I was just like talking to him, I was like asking like what his name was, like all that stuff. And Mr. Vurton was like, no, you need to get up and you need to shake his hand and you need to go formally introduce yourself. And that was something I just completely overthought. I obviously I believe that I have manners and everything, but he really brought that out of me and was like just made sure that was drilled in my head. And it it is.

SPEAKER_04 15:04

That's definitely great. Um, hearing those things. And it's it's fun to meet new people. Sometimes it's scary, right? Like, but sometimes it's also fun when you do that.

SPEAKER_03 15:13

So ladies, thank you for sharing all of that information and your experiences. Before we continue our conversation, we're gonna take a quick commercial break. And when we return, we will talk more about the leadership project and get to know Molly and Ella a little bit more. You're listening to Voices of the Nest. We'll be right back.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

Hello, I am Mary Crawford, the executive administrative assistant to the associate superintendent with this commercial break. What's happening in our community? Where are we headed next? Join us for the state of the city and schools on March 26th, an evening dedicated to the future of North Olmstead. Hear directly from Mayor Jones and Superintendent Calaris as they share updates on the progress, priorities, and vision for both the City of North Olmstead and North Olmsted City Schools. From community development and city initiatives to student success and the future of our schools, this event brings everything together in one conversation. Even better, this isn't just a presentation. It's a chance for residents to hear the big picture and engage in meaningful dialogue about the issues shaping our community. This event is open to everyone in the North Olmstead community. Join us for an informative and engaging evening on March 26th at 6 30 p.m. at the North Olmsted High School Performing Arts Center. State of the city and schools. We hope to see you there. Together, we're building the future of North Olmstead.

SPEAKER_03 17:06

Welcome back to Voices of the Nest. Today we're joined by two high school students, Molly Wheeler and Ella Davis, both who are seniors. We are talking about the Eagle Leadership Project that is taking place at the high school. And this is a collaboration with students from both North Olmsted High School and Brooklyn High School.

SPEAKER_04 17:25

Before Ms. Rutledge has a question, I know we're talking, you guys are working on correct, like talking about doing a project of some sort, and it might be just whether the project comes to fruition, it's like maybe it's how you're gonna do the project and working with Brooklyn students. That's some of the work you're gonna be doing in some of your upcoming meetings, right? Yeah. Okay, good. Molly, Molly clarified that for us and on all of the listeners too. So I'll turn it over to you, Ms. Relage, for the last question.

SPEAKER_03 17:50

I want to ask both of you if another student was cont considering participating in an opportunity like this again, or you know, if the district had an opportunity to do a similar project in future years, would you recommend that we do this? Would you recommend that that student seize that opportunity? And do you have any suggestions for improvements or changes or a different way to do it?

SPEAKER_01 18:14

Um, I would 100% recommend this. I was super nervous at first. Um, obviously going out of my comfort zone. I know we've I know we've said comfort zone so many times. Um, but that really was a big focus for me. And I feel like you don't really know what you're gonna get out of it until you actually participate in it. And that was something for me. I gained a bunch of skills I didn't know I needed, or learned and met people who I never would have met if it wasn't for this.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

Yeah, I would also say definitely do it. I was we were a little bit like lost on what this even was exactly when we were doing it, but ever since it started and every time we've met, I was it's blown me away every time. It's so it's so fun, it's so excited. Exciting. You get to talk to new people every time. My one improvement probably I wish we would do it more. I feel like we've only had a few sessions, and it's definitely super fun. We look forward to it every time. But if we can meet a few more times, I that would be perfect.

SPEAKER_04 19:14

I would agree. All right. So thank you for everything that you're doing and coming on regarding the leadership project. We're gonna finish with something we finish every episode with, something we call the Eagle Five. It's five quick questions to help our many, many listeners get to know you a little bit better. Um, and we can go Molly then LA each one, okay? How's that sound? We'll go back and forth. So, how about let's start with your favorite food, Molly?

SPEAKER_01 19:39

My favorite food is grilled cheese.

SPEAKER_04 19:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

My favorite food is ramen.

SPEAKER_04 19:44

Ramen. All right. Favorite movie or TV show, Molly.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

My favorite movie is Up. Oh, it's a great movie. I have a couple favorite movies, actually. Well, my favorite TV show is Stranger Things, but my favorite movie is probably Home.

SPEAKER_04 20:00

Home? Who's in that one?

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Um, I don't know. It's with the booze.

SPEAKER_04 20:04

I have no idea what that is, and I'm in such a movie, guys. Wow, it's like an old one.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

It's like a case.

SPEAKER_04 20:09

Oh, oh, I know what you're talking about. Okay, and now I know what you're talking about. All right, I'm gonna go all right. I'm gonna go to uh favorite music or you know, or artist.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

I definitely like country music or honestly sad music. And my favorite artist is probably Noah Khan.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Okay. Mine, I'm the same way, just not as big on country, but I do love Noah Khan. I like um Zach Bryan and Lumineers a lot.

SPEAKER_04 20:37

Okay. How about morning person or night all?

SPEAKER_02 20:41

I'm honestly both. Like I I can wake up pretty early, but I stay up really late too.

SPEAKER_04 20:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

I hate waking up early. I will stay up late always. I will never wake up early unless I have to.

SPEAKER_04 20:55

Favorite hobby outside of school?

SPEAKER_02 20:58

I like to play volleyball or workout, but I also like doing crafts like painting or coloring.

unknown 21:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

I'm the same way. I love painting. I love coloring. I love making collages. I love doing all that kind of craft stuff. Obviously, when I'm not working or anything like that now that volleyball is done.

SPEAKER_04 21:16

All right. How about um you're both seniors? You don't have to tell me your life plan. I know you're still trying to figure that out, but tell me maybe what you're thinking about doing after high school.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

I'm planning on going to college to become an occupational therapist. I don't know where yet. I haven't decided, but that's my plan.

SPEAKER_04 21:32

Any any top choices or you're you're kind of like thinking about?

SPEAKER_02 21:36

Yeah, so right now I'm between Ohio State and Dayton.

SPEAKER_04 21:39

Oh, very cool. Both good schools. Minus the football team on the one. But that's just me. I'm very biased and you know, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Such a weirdo. I am committed to Ohio State.

SPEAKER_04 21:50

I I yes. Very good.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

I plan to major in psychology and I'm mining in neuroscience. Um, and I'm eventually going to go into neuropsychology.

SPEAKER_04 21:58

Very good. I say all the time before we finish with these two ladies that, you know, I tell people every chance and I I joke with them or we joke with them today. And I obviously have known Ella longer than Molly just because she was here. And we're not going to bring up anything Ella and I have talked prior to the podcast. We've decided not to unpack a certain bus transportation incident that occurred in kindergarten. That is not a topic of discussion, correct, Ella in this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

That is correct.

SPEAKER_04 22:25

We want to avoid it. But I will say this. I say all the time to anybody that listens that we really do have a lot of great kids here. And both Molly and Ella, I was not just saying that, are two of our best. And if you listen to this podcast and you hear how they responded to such topics, I know we're having fun with them, but these are why we have great things going on in our school district, kids like them. And it's no no accident. It's where they're at, how successful they are and what they're doing because of the time and the hard work you both put in. I know it just doesn't happen overnight and you put in a lot of time to everything you do. So thank you for being here and I do appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 23:06

Thank you for listening to this episode of Voices of the Nest. We're grateful to share the stories of the people who help North Homestead City Schools learn, grow, and soar. If you've enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe and follow the podcast so you never miss a conversation. And if there's someone in our district whose story you'd like to hear, we'd love your suggestions. Until next time, thank you for being part of our community and for listening to Voices of the Nest. We'll see you soon!