I’m a Tulsa Kid: Aspen Dixon

Aspen Dixon represented Tulsa on the Student Advisory Council in Oklahoma

In January, 67 high school juniors and seniors from across the state of Oklahoma gathered for the first session of The Oklahoma State Department of Education Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. Only one representative from each district was chosen, and Aspen Dixon represented Tulsa. With so many budget cuts and frustrations over education in Oklahoma, the Advisory Council is a tool for students to express their opinions on public education. They will meet again in the spring.

TK: Tell us what exactly the Student Advisory Council is?

Aspen: It is a council of involved and academically driven students all gathered by State Superintendent of Education Hoffmeister. She wanted to get some opinions from different areas and find out what we thought were our biggest issues as a state in our schools.

TK: How did you become a part of it?

Aspen: It was offered to students involved in the Applied Leadership class at Broken Arrow High School, and I applied, interviewed and they selected me.

TK: What kind of issues did you discuss?

Aspen: We discussed EOIs (End-of-Instruction) exams, bullying and teacher pay.

TK: Was there one topic that stood out the most to you?

Aspen: The EOI testing. It is a very talked about subject and whether it’s being helpful or hurtful to our education. It was so interesting, it would have been nice if we had met longer!

TK: What did you enjoy about the council?

Aspen: I enjoyed meeting other students from various parts of the state and the students voices being heard and taken into consideration.

TK: What are your plans for the future? Any interest in education as a career?

Aspen: Possibly, I plan on attending OSU and studying science, math and business and seeing what field holds all three, and then going from there.