From Oct. 21 to Oct. 22, Castaic High School held its annual Leadership conference, hosted by ASB and Journalism advisor, Mrs. Hanks, and the 29 student leaders of the Leadership advisory. This two-day conference allows students and teachers to delve into complex topics in a safe environment, where they are encouraged to open up about their own adversities to form a stronger sense of community.

Mrs. Hanks, also known as Mama Hanks, has been doing the Leadership conference for 17 years, starting at Canyon High School and expanding to other schools in the district, including Saugus High School and now Castaic High School.

The original program name was Safe School Ambassadors, with its primary principles centered on anti-bullying and creating a safe environment for students on campuses. However, Hanks and the student leaders take the main ideologies of the program and morphed them with contemporary issues, such as eating disorders, suicide, and cyber-bullying.

When changing from Canyon High School to Castaic High School, the most difficult part was scaling back the program.

“It was a major shift [to Castaic] because I came here and nobody knew about it,” stated Hanks. “The only hard part is trying to scale it back and determine what is and is not important, but holding true to the principles of the program, which I know some of those things are the boring parts, but it’s the foundation, so we have to do it.”

When Hanks first started the program, Leadership alumni would run the program. But, as time went on, Hanks thought of a better way to engage the students.

“Two or three years in, I was like, you know, I bet if kids were doing this, it’d be way more engaging,” explained Hanks.

The entire Leadership program and conference is led by student leaders who go through various rounds of interviews in order for the best possible students to be able to properly represent the program.

The Leadership conference is led by senior Co-Presidents Carson Hage and Mia Mendoza, with support from table group leaders, such as Azul Mancilla-Baez.

Co-Presidents, seniors Hage and Mendoza, are in charge of the Leadership program, helping the other student leaders plan the entire conference, beginning right after the last conference ends, and continues until the very last days before the conference.They both were invited to the program their freshman year and became a part of the first student trainers their sophomore year.

“As times progress, people are excited to be in leadership. They talk about leadership as something good and something they want to continue doing,” explains Hage. “It’s not like, ‘oh, I have to do leadership.’ It’s like, ‘I get to.’”

With being leaders of this impactful organization for around four years, Hage and Mendoza have both evolved into inspiring students, both taking various handfuls of knowledge and wisdom each year.

“I feel like for myself, I’ve gained more confidence…since freshman year,” explains Mendoza. “I feel like [Leadership has] let me grow out of my bubble and meet new people.”

While Mendoza grew in self-confidence, Hage was able to improve his approach towards public speaking and his social interactions through this program.

“I feel like having to go up there and talk to like 200 people is a different level of public speaking. And I think that’s really like good development for me,” said Hage. “I also think it’s made me be a little more kinder to people… I’m more mindful of what I say.”

Both Hage and Mendoza agree that through this program, the collective student body feels more connected, further straying away from the cliques.

While the students from the program might not form the tightest of friendships, they move up from strangers to peers, giving a simple wave in the hallways to keep up their connection from Leadership.

However, table group leaders are the ones who actively participate in forming those group connections. Senior Azul Mancilla-Baez has been a part of Leadership since her freshman year and became a table group leader her sophomore year.

“Being a table group leader, I think my favorite thing is just I like the fact that I have… sense of… guidance because… I want to be that person that people can ask questions to,” stated Mancilla-Baez. “Just being in the little group, even if I’m [in a group] with a small amount of people, it’s making an impact towards them and that’s enough.”

Not only do Castaic students get a chance to learn and open up to their peers, they are able to form a tighter bond with the teachers and administrators of the school.

This year, NGSS Biology, AP Environmental Science, and AP Biology teacher, Ms. Song, attended her very first Leadership conference. Song expressed her surprise at finding out the burdens that many of her students carried.

“I felt like in two days, some of the students that I have had in my classroom, I got to know so much more about them in that short amount of time,” stated Song. “It kind of helped me see them in a different light. And I’m hoping that will help me connect with them more in the classroom.”

While she is not usually vulnerable with her students, Leadership allowed her to realize that having teachers open up to their students allowed the students to see them in a different light; to see them as actual human beings, not just a figure standing before them in a classroom.

“I think… the goal is for students to understand that we’re very similar. I mean, we’re very different, but we’re very similar. And to use that to do good. And to bring people together rather than distancing from people,” stated Song.

While Leadership tries to help students and teachers become empathetic individuals, they teach you that it’s alright to remind yourself that people act differently when they are going through a hard time.

“Even though I’ve been doing this for 17 years, I still have to remind myself sometimes when I get mad at somebody or I’m frustrated, like, ‘why are they doing this?’ And I’m like, ‘but why are they doing that,’” explains Hanks. “I feel like that’s the thing, [Leadership] is just a constant reminder to just try and be better and be kinder.”

Mrs. Hanks and the Leadership team continue to leave an everlasting mark of kindness and empathy all over the campus. After finishing the 2025 Leadership conference, Hanks and the student leaders are back to work, taking surveys and already preparing for the following year, while the lessons of Leadership — both past and recent ones— continue to reverberate off the walls of the classrooms of CHS.