2023 Inter High brought together neighboring high schools at Marysville Pilchuck High School on Nov. 14 to share ideas and build leadership skills. The Leadership class and ASB officers were in attendance.

This year’s theme focused on discovering your why. Your “WHY” is the passion and inspiration behind the purpose of why students choose to lead.

“In our small groups, we talked about the road to discover your why. And the first step is passion and inspiration,” junior Zainab Marenah said.

Not only did students talk about their inspiration, but they also talked about their impact and purpose. They connected impact and purpose, to the concept of legacy – what leaders want to leave behind for future students and student leaders. These aspects helped participants figure out their “WHY”.

Each Inter High features a guest speaker, and this year’s keynote speaker was James Layman, Director of Association of Washington Student Leaders. Layman talked about how his mother told him that she missed his smile. When she passed away, he made it his goal to live life happily and full of joy.

Another significant message at this Inter High was to remind students that when life gets rough, to keep your head held high and push through the hard times.

“The greatest thing I can take away from Inter-High is finding things that bring you joy. You want to live your life for the things you love and the people you love,” Marenah said.

Walking into Inter-High, student leaders went in with open hearts and minds to find ways to help make this school a better and safer place for students and staff.

“At Inner-High, we talked about how Leadership made us feel like we belong at the high school and about how we can make an impact on other people. Inter-high made me feel better connected with our school,” senior Amelia Vasquez said.