MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 26-28 HIGH SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 28-30

Should I run for the CASL State Board? So you’re deciding if you should run for the California Association of Student Leaders (CASL) State Board? Before starting the process, check if you're eligible. According to the CASL Organization Bylaws, each candidate is required to have: a minimum 2.0 GPA, parent’s approval, and school approval.

The California Association of Student Leaders Organization provides leadership development opportunities for the exceptional student leaders who work passionately to move culture forward on their campuses and in their communities. As a CASL State Board member, you will intern at CADA/CASL Camp at UC Santa Barbara, mentor other student leaders at Leadership Development Days and R.S.V.P. trainings, attend quarterly board meetings, present workshops at area conferences, serve on committees, and host the annual CASL State Conference.

Being on the CASL State Board is one of the most fun and rewarding things you can do in high school, but with great power, comes great responsibility. Elections for the 2015 board will take place at the 2015 State Conference in San Jose, California.

What position is best for you? As a member of the CASL State Board, whether you’re applying as a Freshmen, Northern, Southern, Web and Media, or Communications Director, you’ll do more than just plan the CASL State Conference. One enters a position of numerous responsibilities, like working on a committee. There are different committees in the CASL organization: Elections, Scripts and Interstates, Visualizations, and Service Learning Committee. These Committees are decided after the CASL State Board is finalized and all contribute to planning the CASL State Conference! Each CASL Board member develops their own workshop, which is presented at Area Conferences and the CASL State Conference. At

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Got Questions?

ADVICE FROM THE 2014 CASL BOARD APPLICATION PROCESS

QUESTIONS & RESUMEAPPLICATION PROCESS

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

MEET THE PROS IN WHAT TOPIC ARE YOU A

PROFESSIONAL?

2015 ELECTIONS GUIDE

MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 26-28 HIGH SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 28-30

Leadership Development Days and Area Conferences, we often do introduce speakers and help out our CASL advisor(s) or area coordinator. Every other month we attend board meetings, where we plan our CASL Conference, as well as improve our leadership skills. Over the summer, the CASL State Board assists CADA, the California Association of Activities Directors, with CADA/CASL Middle School Camp, where every board member has a student council group and helps lead this group for three days. The memories you’ll have, friends you’ll make, and experiences you will have gained from being on the CASL State Board will be truly treasurable.

Web and Media Directors use a mix of creative and technical skills to further the outreach of CASL as an organization and to improve the visual elements of the CASL state conference. They design logos and visuals, produce and edit videos, solidify CASL's Internet presence, and provide technical support and assistance to the Board. If you like working with computers, graphic design, videos, photography, or other media, consider applying to be a Web and Media Director. —Teddy Knox The Communications Director's role is significant because there is only one on the CASL Board. The director takes the minutes at every board meeting, and is encouraged to help increase communication between committees on the CASL board. But the best part about this role is that you get to make and define how you see the position, truly being innovative in what you believe you can do in this role to further better CASL. —Kathleen Schwind

The Application: Questions and Resume The three short answer questions you are asked to respond to are a great way to show us who you are as a student leader. Unique responses give us a chance to get to know you better. Remember: quality is more important than quantity. Shorter responses that clearly articulate your feelings about a question offer more for the committee than long responses that have a hard time getting to their main ideas.

The next item you are asked to upload is a resume. Resumes give people a brief summary of your accomplishments in regards to leadership positions, activities, and awards. Think of a

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Teddy Knox, current Web and Media Director, MCing the Spirit Jamboree at the 2014 CADA/CASL Middle School Camp.

Amanda Regalado and Marlen Diaz, 2013 Southern and Northern Directors, leading the service project at the 2014

CASL Conference.

Emily Lomasney, current Southern Director, leading the Presentation

Bootcamp workshop at the 2014 CADA/CASL Middle School Camp.

�You will have many responsibilities.�

MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 26-28 HIGH SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 28-30

resume as a way to show us what you have done in the past several years. Resumes should be concise—not more than one page. Bullet points are your friends! Resumes take a while to construct, so please give yourself adequate time to create yours. If you’re having a hard time, it’s a great idea to ask your English teacher or Leadership Advisor for help.

In the application, we will ask you to upload a picture of yourself in a black t-shirt. Please make sure that this picture is clear and that the black t-shirt does not have a distracting design. These photos will be used to identify you on the ballot at the conference.

The Application: Letters of Recommendation An important part of the application process are the letters of recommendation. A letter of recommendation is a group of questions or statements from, in this case, a teacher and your leadership advisor, endorsing you as a candidate for the CASL State Board. They will be asked to comment on various subjects regarding your character, work-ethic, integrity, etc; as well as writing some brief comments about the kind of person you are and why you would be an excellent candidate for the CASL board. As stated above, you need both a teacher and your advisor to write letters of recommendation.

Sending your leadership advisor and a teacher of your choice the recommendation forms is simple. On the online application you will be filling out, just type in the name of the teacher and advisor in the designated question box with their email address. An email will be automatically sent to them in the following weeks with the link to to form. It is strongly recommended you approach the teacher and advisor you are planning on using as references before entering the name in the online application.

In addition to your teacher and leadership advisor’s letters of recommendation, you also need parent and principal approval. Approvals are different than recommendations. For approvals, an email is sent out to your parents and principal that simply inquires if they are aware you are running for the CASL State Board and approve of the time away from school your service on the board would require. Again, in the application, there will be a designated spot to include those email addresses; be sure to tell your parents and principal about your running for the board before you put them on your application!

Remember: the whole application is due on February 3, 2015—including letters of recommendation. Please be sure you allow your teacher and advisor enough time to respond to the recommendation request email. Also give your recommenders plenty of time to write a nice recommendation for you. They are doing you a huge favor, so be sure to respect their time!

Giving your advisor, teacher, and principal a heads up that they will be receiving an email from CASL can help make sure your application is processed on time; some school districts set up strong spam filters, and if teachers and principals aren’t looking for a CASL email,

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MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 26-28 HIGH SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 28-30

they may not see the email in time to send in the approval or recommendation. Communication, when it comes to letters of recommendation, is the key to success.

Meet the Pros At the CASL conference there is a designated time period for student leaders to become presenters, called Meet the Pros. Meet the Pros is an opportunity for students with unique ideas to showcase and share their specialties in the student leadership realm. Delegates will be given a list of presenters’ topics. They will attend to gather information, which will allow them to take back new ideas to their schools.

All candidates applying for the CASL State Board will be required to present at the conference during Meet the Pros. As a presenter, you can choose an event, program, or activity, your school does in a particularly special way to share with the conference delegates. Along with presenting, you are asked to create a handout delegates can take back to their schools. The handout will help guide the delegates with some details from your presentation. It will also allow them to share what they learned from your session with their own schools. It’s extremely important to have a visual for the delegates, so they can see those ideas come to life—in the past, these have included project boards and photos from events.

The Finalist Process Once your application is submitted, a select committee of seniors and adult advisor on the CASL State Board will review applications and select the finalists based on a rubric. A finalists list will be posted on www.caslboard.com/elections on March 15th 2015. A set of campaign rules will also be sent to the finalists. Middle School finalists will plan a speech and prepare for a question-and-answer session which will occur at the conference. High School finalists will be given a set of questions to answer at their respective conference as well. The delegation of the conference will ultimately elect the board using approval voting. Candidates who are elected to the 2015 State Board will be presented on stage at the end of the CASL Conference.

Good Luck! Hopefully this guide has answered any questions you may have about the elections process. It is our hope that, through the elections process, you will have learned more about yourself as a leader and become prepared to continue your leadership journey with us—whether that’s as a board member, a volunteer, or a delegate. The Elections Committee is ready to answer any further questions you may have so please do not hesitate to email us at elections@caslboard.com. We are confident the elections process will serve to enrich the already-incredible learning experience you will share in at this year’s CASL Conference.

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MIDDLE SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 26-28 HIGH SCHOOL CONFERENCE: MARCH 28-30

If you are not selected as a finalist, do not worry! There are so many ways to get involved with CASL ranging from Leadership Development Days to the CASL State Conference. Volunteers can sign up by visiting www.caslboard.com/volunteer. If you have the opportunity, we also encourage you to reapply to the board next year—sometimes, the best lesson learned from the election process is persistence!

On behalf of the elections committee and the entire CASL State Board, good luck!

There will be a specific, “CASL Candidates” session, during the first workshop’s allotted time, on the first day of the conference. We will go over the candidates schedule, conference election process, and answer any last questions. Can’t wait to see you there!

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