The NorthStar Narrative
The NorthStar Narrative
Addie and Maia's NSA Journey as Global Student Leaders
Join us as we delve into the heart of NorthStar Academy's community, where Addie and Maia explore their role in student leadership. Listen as they discuss the challenges of communicating in an online school setting and the invaluable lessons learned from embracing diverse perspectives. The joy of collaboration and the fulfillment of helping peers succeed emerge as powerful motivators, painting a vivid picture of what it means to be a student leader at NorthStar Academy. Their experiences are a testament to the enriching opportunities offered by online education, where they manage to balance leadership, collaboration, and personal growth.
Hi, this is Stephanie Shafer and you're listening to the NorthStar Narrative, a podcast from NorthStar Academy. I want to thank you for joining us. I hope you're encouraged, challenged and motivated by what you learned today. Enjoy the story. Hey everybody, thanks so much for joining us.
Stephanie Shafer:It's another incredible episode because we have two NorthStar students on the show today, and I'm always super, super thrilled when we get to talk to students, especially those that are on student council and have been at NorthStar for so long, just living really incredible lives for the Lord, and so I get to welcome today Addie Becker and Maia Coyle.
Stephanie Shafer:Both of them have been at NorthStar for such a long time and have served in so many incredible ways, so I can't wait for you to be able to meet them, hear from their hearts and their experience and just find out some really cool things. So listen in. If you are checking out NorthStar online education, you're going to learn some things about NorthStar and online education. If you are already in NorthStar, you're going to learn some things about NorthStar and online education. If you are already in NorthStar, you're going to learn some ways that you can get involved and reasons why you should get involved in things like student council at NorthStar. So here we go. Thank you, ladies, so much for joining me. I would love for each of you just to take a little bit of time to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your journey so far in life.
Addie Becker:Sure, so my name is Addie. I am a TCK living in Southeast Asia and I've been with NorthStar since sixth grade, so I've been here for a long time and I've been able to be involved in several different student leadership opportunities that NorthStar offers. I have been a club leader twice, and last year I served as student council content creator, and then this year I'm the student council vice president. So that's a little bit about me.
Maia Coyle:Yeah, so my name's Maia. I was born in Beijing, China, and my parents ran a church there. A few years, when I was about nine, we moved to the United States, and so when I was in sixth grade, we found NorthStar Academy when my sister was going into her high school years, and through NorthStar, I was able to meet so many amazing people and really connect with the community that it has, and through it I've been a part of the welcome committee. I have also been a welcome committee leader on student council, along with the secretary, and this year I am the student council president, and so NorthStar has just been such an amazing place for me to get involved with different students and meet people all around the world, and it's really been a blessing.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, such a blessing for all of us staff at NorthStar to get to hang out with y'all at different times and watch you grow and see all the stuff that you do. So it really is incredible working with you and just getting to know more about your lives and how God's using you in NorthStar and out, and so both of you have had a lot going on outside of NorthStar. So tell us a little bit what it's like to live overseas. And then, right now, Maia is back in the US while Addie is overseas, and so the time zone differences at NorthStar are always fun.
Stephanie Shafer:It's such a blessing to be a global school and to jump on the screen and be all over the world at one time with each other, but that can be difficult to navigate to. So tell us a little bit about the things that have been fun about living in different places, but maybe been a little scary. Like Addie told me, she's been chased by monkeys. I don't know if you want to share a story about that, but something that we'd love to learn, something new about what?
Stephanie Shafer:it's like yeah, being overseas and just growing up in different places.
Addie Becker:Yeah, so I have really enjoyed being able to live overseas and it's definitely been a really important part of my life story, and NorthStar has been an incredible help by giving me the flexibility to actually be able to live overseas and travel. But that definitely gives makes it challenging when I'm part of student council and we have meetings that we have to schedule and it can be hard to find times at work. So it's definitely been an area for me that I've had to grow in is being able to communicate with people in different time zones and try to bridge that gap. So, yeah, I've really enjoyed being able to still be a part of NorthStar and Student Council, because that's an opportunity that most students don't get to have if they are being homeschooled, and so, yeah, yeah, one really amazing thing that I've learned through NSA is how to creatively adapt to different situations, as my family has traveled throughout the year.
Maia Coyle:One of the main reasons why I do NSA is because I don't have the commitment for a in-person class or an in-person school, and so my family travels a lot and we have to be able to adapt in our different situations, in our different lives, and so one thing that NSA has taught me is how to creatively adapt to a different schedule, and not only has that gone through like my class schedule, but also like, for example, on student council, we're leading the Christmas radio show right now for our Christmas event, and it's been really fun to make traditions into an online thing, like take in-person traditions and put them into an online like call or an online challenge, and so it's been really fun being able to learn how NSA has taught me how to creatively adapt Um, and, yeah, I think time zones is definitely an example of how everyone at NSA has to creatively adapt and just make room for different people and different meetings into their schedule, and just the flexibility that NSA gives you and also teaches you how to give yourself Um.
Maia Coyle:But yeah, it's just. It's really amazing to um see what NSA has taught me, as I have a very crazy life, that um is hard to make commitments with.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, so you are both seniors, so I know it's about to get extra crazy as the spring semester arrives and you're hearing back from colleges, universities making plans, making decisions, preparing, you know, for whatever the next steps might be. Talk to us a little bit about that. And how do you think NorthStar has prepared you? And then just your life experiences overseas? How has God prepared you, through all that, for what's coming next? Even though we don't know for sure what's coming right, we think we have a plan and but, yeah, just the excitement of that next step journey.
Maia Coyle:Yeah, I think for me, one of the amazing things that NSA has taught me is the importance of a global atmosphere.
Maia Coyle:A lot of the schools that I've applied to and have been really interested in have been schools that specifically have a global atmosphere and are able to connect on a global level, and it's been really amazing to see how NSA has set me up with community skills, I'm able to communicate with different people and the leadership opportunities that NSA has connected me with.
Maia Coyle:It's just to be honest. It's provided a great resume and a great just thing for colleges to look at great just thing for colleges to look at, and NSA really provides what you need to get into a college and it also provides the skills that you need without you even realizing it, like with NSA being a school that really provides ways for you to write good essays and write things fast and also being able to manage your time well is really the skills that you need for college and that a lot of schools don't teach, and NSA does a really amazing job that you have to teach and, as I've taken a lot of classes at different colleges and community colleges, nsa has helped me so much through the courses that they've taught and how I can better use those skills into the classes I'm taking at other colleges. And so NSA just sets you up for so many different things, whether it's leadership, community skills, just writing faster or not procrastinating. It's just really an amazing school that provides you how to adapt to different situations.
Addie Becker:Yeah, I completely agree with Maia that NorthStar has really set me up for success, and so, for me, having grown up overseas, I've just been able to see the hardships that many people have in their communities, and so I feel like the Lord has been calling me to be involved in social entrepreneurship. So that is what I will be studying in university, and NorthStar has given me a lot of flexibility to be able to job shadow and to have internships that have prepared me for my career and have just helped me to have a better understanding of what I'm getting myself into. And then also just the student leadership has also been a really important part of my high school years because it's taught me skills that I wouldn't be able to necessarily get if I wasn't, if I was just homeschooled and didn't have any connection, and so, yeah, northstar has really set me up well for success.
Stephanie Shafer:I love to hear that about the entrepreneurship and how cool our students really are, because we have so many NorthStar students that have started their own businesses and that's why they come to NorthStar to be able to spend time pursuing whether it's just a hobby or something that's going to become a career or already is. So it's so incredible to see the creative minds God has given our students like you and just to see that, yeah, flourish. So I'm so excited that God brought both of you here to NorthStar and for student council, that you're here and that you have such a desire to grow and expand and help every student feel seen and known. A little bit about what it's like to have different roles at NorthStar, maybe which one's been your favorite so far and why you would say you have to get involved in student council or some kind. You know it doesn't have to be like a vice president or president, but it could be something a smaller role Like why should students? What are the benefits of experiencing leadership?
Maia Coyle:I've loved leadership at NSA and just getting involved with specifically volunteer positions. I remember in sixth grade actually was the first time that I was involved in the welcome committee, because back then there was a middle school and elementary welcome committee, and so I remember just seeing the welcome committee leaders and immediately wanting to do that. And as I've been on the welcome committee, I loved meeting new students and it really provided me a way of introducing myself to people and hearing their stories, because at NSA so many people have such amazing stories and one of my favorite things was just listening to people's story and just hearing their testimony of how they've met God and how they have been able to come to NSA and just different stories like that. And so one of the things that I love so much about NSA is the community, which is why I've been on their student leadership for so long, and so I think for a new student, being on the welcome committee is an amazing first step. It's really simple. It's just meeting new people and reaching out to them and just making a friend, and so welcome committee is definitely something that I really enjoy doing, and another way to get involved is through the clubs at NSA for high schoolers.
Maia Coyle:There are so many amazing clubs, and what I love about NSA is, if there's a place that someone wants or someone wants to be in, nsa has a place for you, and so NSA just with the clubs, there's so many different opportunities for you to get plugged in with other people that share your interests, which is something that I have loved so much.
Maia Coyle:And for me, for my favorite place or role that I've been on for student council has definitely been president, but I think one of the main reasons why I've loved being president so much is just seeing how other people are always like wanting to lead, and it's been really fun to just be able to provide opportunities for them to lead or for them to serve the community, and so it's been really fun to be able to connect the community all together. We have so many different places, like the NorthStar Navigator, which is the school newspaper, and we have the clubs and we have the welcome committee and just being able to tie it all into one flourishing community and be able to lead it and just have others shine through it and be able to set others up for success, as Addy has said. And so, yeah, just leadership at NSA is so much fun and is such a unique piece of the NorthStar culture that I would really recommend. And yeah, it's a great way to meet new people.
Addie Becker:That's really cool.
Addie Becker:So for me, I've enjoyed all of the positions I've been in.
Addie Becker:I've been a club leader twice, vice president, content creator.
Addie Becker:One of the really cool things was being a club leader for the Visual Arts Club and I felt like that experience really gave me a really well-rounded experience of what student leadership is like, because I got to see the whole development of the club from start to finish, and so I helped with the branding, I collaborated with another club leader and also with the club advisor and even with student council, and then I was also able to plan events and host meetings, and so I think that that experience really gave me a good understanding of what student leadership involves and I think that set me up well for success as a content creator and vice president. This year I'm vice president and that's been a really great opportunity. I've especially enjoyed being able to like what Maia said helping build others up and empowering others to use their own giftings at NSA, and it's been so cool this year that we've been able to really encourage others to try different things and to really expand their realm of influence in new ways that we haven't done in student council before.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, love it Always growing and asking questions. And yeah, it's really cool to watch y'all and all the students. Okay, so, as you think about leadership, what is one thing that is super difficult with leadership, or what's one takeaway? Maybe you thought, oh, I've never experienced something like that, but now look what God's doing with it. One of you can answer that question Y'all can fight doing with it. One of you can answer that question. Y'all can fight over it. And one of you can answer what's the best thing about leadership? I want to be in leadership forever because of this, so whoever can pick which one you want first.
Maia Coyle:Yeah, so I think the best thing about leadership that I've learned specifically, I've learned this from NSA is what we've been talking about the opportunity to set others up for success and just being able to make connections with people.
Maia Coyle:I think one of the things I've loved so much is being able to see other students building other students up, and at NSA you can see that in so many different places and as we've developed student council, we've been able to help others lead.
Maia Coyle:For example, right now I think we have the most clubs that we've ever had at this school, which is really amazing because so many people are coming to the school and being open to voice their ideas and their wants for what NSA can provide for them, and so I think one of my favorite things about leadership is looking back and seeing all of the things that people have been able to do and all of the things that they've been able to impact, like how they have made some place a better place, and so that's just one thing that I really love about leadership, and I also just really love working with people and being able to just hear their opinions and their stories and learning from others. I think that that's something that's so powerful about leadership is you're constantly learning and you're constantly gaining feedback from other people and, yeah, it just is so powerful.
Stephanie Shafer:That's good, and the challenges are just as important, addie, because we learn a lot from things that are hard too right, and we have to have those hard times to grow. So what do you got?
Addie Becker:Yeah, so I think that one of the hardest parts about being involved in student leadership is communication, and so, especially in an online school, it can be really hard to read what people are trying to communicate, and so that's often led to misunderstandings, both within student council and also when student council tries to communicate with the student body. But it's also been present. It's also presented us with a great opportunity for growth, as we've learned how to interact with people who have different opinions than ours and how to adapt. So one of the ways that I've had to personally adapt is to do more voice messages and video recordings that help people to understand what I'm trying to say in a way that text doesn't communicate, and so that's been one challenge, but I think that our student council has really handled that well this year, and people have been really gracious and forgiving to the student council members when there are misunderstandings.
Stephanie Shafer:True and definitely true for all leaders. I'm sure Sometimes, as a leader, I think that people understand what's in my head. I feel like I've explained it like really well, oh, here's the vision, here's the next steps, and I'm like you got this. And then I've come to find out I didn't really explain it well or didn't even say some of the stuff I thought I said have you ever experienced that? It's like I thought I communicated that but apparently I didn't say it at all. Yeah, so that can be rough.
Stephanie Shafer:So there's always lots to learn, no matter how old you are. It's a continual learning and humbling experience, but really good because you do grow. In all of the challenges and the fun times and the flourishing times. It's all fun. All right, as we begin to wrap up this podcast, just hearing a little bit about y'all's incredible experience at NorthStar. Each of you take either a parent or a student. If you could give one tip to a parent or one tip to a student, think about high school parent, high school student. What's the most important thing that you would want to share with that parent or the student that you've learned during your time in high school?
Addie Becker:For me, one of the most important things that my mom has done a really great job at helping me with is to plan my schedule and plan it in a way that allows me to get a lot of college credits done in high school, and so that has actually allowed me to be able to end up graduating in three years at university. And NorthStar has been a really important part of that because it's given me the flexibility to take more college credits and it's also taught me how to plan my own schedule, which is a really great, great life skill to learn, and NorthStar has been a really great place, great way for me to develop that skill. Sorry, that wasn't great.
Stephanie Shafer:No, that's awesome, that's good advice. And, yeah, to really spend time working together with your parent, too, on schedule, brainstorming, figuring out what's best. That's good.
Maia Coyle:Yeah, that's so important. I definitely agree with that. Yeah, that's so important. I definitely agree with that. I think, for students specifically at NSA, I would say my one tip would be to get involved. I think one of the things that has helped me so much through my high school has been the community that NSA has provided for me. I think I've met so many amazing friends and some of my best friends are still at NSA and have been through NSA and I know that a lot of the opportunities that I've even put on, like my college applications, have been through the NSA community and being able to lead and so just being able to get involved provides so much for you. It provides just relationships that you can have through your school and just it provides ways that you can relate to each other. You can reach out to a classmate or you can reach out to a student council member and just being able to be open to making a new friend and just whether that's saying hi to a Welcome to Maine member or whether that's joining a call for an event I think that getting involved is super important at NSA and this, like I said, this goes beyond just making a relationship, but at NSA.
Maia Coyle:It's provided me ways that I've been able to succeed in life succeed in college and hopefully getting in but it's just provided ways for me to learn more about schooling and NSA has a tutoring program and it has ways that you can really succeed in your schooling through relationships and being able to get involved and see all the ways that NSA can help provide you and provide for you and set you up for success really comes down to getting involved and being able to really put yourself into the community and joining a call or two and so throughout my high school years I really enjoyed being involved in NSA and it's taught me so much and it has really grown me as a person and the relationships that I've developed at NSA and leadership skills have really been the thing that has set me up for success.
Stephanie Shafer:Well, y'all both are super successful throughout your time here at NorthStar in so many ways and, most importantly, the love for the Lord and how he shines through you and how he's giving that heart to care about other people, so compassionate and wanting to help, and so that really shines through, even listening in these few moments for your hearts, and so I know he's got so much ahead of you as you enter in Christmas spring semester. Don't let it go by real fast. Savor every moment, be present in every moment. Don't rush it, because you'll be on the other side of senior year sooner than you want to be, probably. So just take your time, deep breaths. Don't rush it, because you'll be on the other side of senior year sooner than you want to be, probably. So just take your time, deep breaths, don't worry.
Stephanie Shafer:You're getting in and going wherever he wants you to go, and so that's super exciting to watch and just pray for you. And, yeah, thank you, thank you, thank you so, so much for all of your investment while here at NorthStar and just how I know y'all have loved on teachers, loved back and, I'm sure, encouraged them in so many ways, and how important that is of just the community. And, yeah, super thankful for your investment, your family's investment and how God is continuing to grow you too, and thank you so much for sharing a little bit about your experience and what you're learning in leadership. It's always a delight to have you on and here. Yeah, and thank you so much.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, thank you for having us. Thank you so much for listening today. If you have any questions for our guests or would like information about NorthStar, please email us. At podcast at nsaschool, we love having guests on our show and getting to hear their stories. If you have anyone in mind that you think would be a great guest to feature, please email us and let us know. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on upcoming stories.