After four years of constant dedication, Leadership Advisor Alisa Arcos has decided to step down from the position in June. For the past four years, Arcos has created countless campus leaders and has made sure the program has not only served the school but the community as well.

While Arcos knows the ins and outs of running a program like Leadership now, when she first stepped into the program, she found herself without many of the basic tools most teachers rely on when taking on a new class.

“It’s very difficult to know what a program is going to be like when you first step in. It was huge in terms of the events the kids put on. My vision at first was to just step in and see the way it was before. With most classes, you have a curriculum, you have a book or a binder or something to guide you… there’s nothing like that in Leadership. A lot of the learning just happens while you’re working,” Arcos said.

During her time with the program, Arcos has helped to put on and run mega events for the school and community, including the food drive, the special needs Prom and the Veterans Day assembly, just to name a few. However, when running a program as visible as Leadership, facing criticism is just a part of the job Arcos has had to learn to accept and believes it’s turned her into a stronger person.

“I always thought I was a pretty strong person, but you really have to develop a thick skin in this program. And I don’t mean that in a negative way, like you have to learn how to take things with a grain of salt and understand it’s bigger than you are and that you aren’t going to have control over everything. When you’re a classroom teacher, you kind of do,” Arcos said.

When Arcos steps down from the program in June, AP United States History teacher Jason Billingsley will step up to lead the 29 students who will be in next year’s Leadership class. While most of next year’s class are juniors and seniors new to the program, a smaller group of ten will be returning seniors who have worked closely with Arcos this year. Billingsley hopes to work closely with this group to smooth the transition from one advisor to another.

“They’re Arcos’s kids, but I’m taking them in; they’re my Big 10. They’re going to help with the transition of the class, teach. I don’t want to say it’s scary, but they know more than I do,” Billingsley said.

Even though he hasn’t started his new position yet, Billingsley already has an idea of what kind of atmosphere he wants to create in his program.

“I want the 10 returners, along with the entire class, to leave a legacy or mark where the seven returners have such a high bar to reach. I want each class to build off each other. But that’s a huge task to say ‘I want you to be the best Leadership class ever’ and then tell the next class ‘I want you guys to be better than that’,” Billingsley said.

Although one era of Leadership may be ending, another one is about to begin.