SANDPOINT — When it came time for Tom Albertson to talk about what makes Sandpoint High School special, he turned to the experts — the students.

Over the past few Lake Pend Oreille School District meetings, principals from schools across the district have presented to the board, answering two main questions: What is unique or special about your school? And what strategies are taking place this year that are different that the school is instituting to get more students learning more?”

Albertson, the principal at SHS, picked nine out of the school’s approximately 1,000 students to answer the question during the Nov. 27 meeting. Each of those students talked about different clubs, activities and opportunities that SHS has provided to them over the course of their high school careers.

“When Mr. Albertson asked me to do this speech, I was really excited because through my new radio program, the “3 O’Clock Rush” — it’s weekly on KRFY — I’ve gotten the chance to sit down with many of the clubs, classes and sports teams at our high school, and let me just say, there are many,” said SHS senior Ryan Baumgartner. “There really isn’t an excuse not to be involved.”

Baumgartner said he has been involved in chamber choir all four years of high school and has taken a couple of trips with the group, in addition to a trip to New York with the Model United Nations. One of the things he learned from those trips, he said, was fundraising. He not only learned how hard fundraising is, but the rewards that come from it.

Being involved, he said, is important because, as he started to fill out college applications, he realized it is not just the students who excel academically, colleges are also looking for well-rounded individuals who work together, and are also involved in the community around them.

SHS senior Corrine Capodagli said she is president of the math club, in the National Honor Society, was in Academic Decathlon last year and for a brief time her sophomore year was in the fly fishing club. This year, she is the editor-in-chief at the Cedar Post, the school’s newspaper.

The Cedar Post is “unique” for her, she said, because it has taught her about what it means to be a leader.. It is more than just delegating, Capodagli said, it is about working with the staff and the writers, sitting down and laying out goals that help the Cedar Post staff be successful.

“Cedar Post is like being a student and having a job, but it’s an opportunity that I am really grateful for,” Capodagli said. “… It has really been a big part of my high school career and helped me become the person I am today.”

Jasmine Mearns, also a senior at SHS, is also involved in several clubs and activities, including choir and drama, and serves as president of the Interact Club. Acting is a big part of her life, she said. Last year she played Fiona in “Shrek,” and the year before that she was Winifred in “Once Upon a Mattress,” which she said is similar to “The Princess and the Pea.”

The theater program at SHS is great for the whole community, she said, because all youth between the ages of 8 and 18 can be in the plays.

“We do about three months of working our butts off to get a two-hour long musical that we showcase for the entire community,” Mearns said. “And it is just such a great time for us drama kids and choir kids and dancers to show off our talents, because usually we don’t get recognized for that.”

The school’s welding program was the focus of SHS senior Aiden Ackerman, who said it is one of his favorite classes at SHS. Students start in welding I as sophomores, he said, and those who enter the third year of the program as seniors do projects for the community. Ackerman’s team is currently making a handicap swing for people in wheelchairs, that will ultimately be placed at McNearney Park in Ponderay. For his Eagle Scout project, he also made a longboard and skateboard locking rack, which is now in front of the high school by the bike racks.

“This class is preparing us for an actual job,” Ackerman said. “... We have more and more kids going into welding I and welding II, and hopefully we will have more kids in welding III, because it is an amazing class.”

Another opportunity for students at SHS is the computer-aided design program, which was highlighted by SHS junior Makayla Chapman. It was after a visit to Washington State University when she was in eighth grade that Chapman began to think about a career in architecture and engineering. Then she learned that SHS offered a 3D design class, which she took her freshman year. By sophomore year, she said, they “really jumped into things” and she not only learned how to design a house, she learned about interior design and other aspects of the field. She showed the board members images of her “passive solar design” project that she did at the end of her sophomore year, where she had to design a house that used solar energy to offset heat and power costs, and also design the interior and exterior terrain.

“This project was really difficult and I struggled a little bit, but after it was over I felt really accomplished,” Chapman said. “That was really due to the students in my class. They were all really helpful and we worked together, and especially the teacher, (Malia) Meschko. She has so much knowledge and she get really involved with the students, and I feel like if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I’m really grateful to her.”

SHS senior Adele Marchiando wears many hats, including National Honor Society, drama, Academic Decathlon and, after receiving a 1460 out 1520 on her PSATs, qualified as a National Merit semi-finalist.

Her focus during the meeting, however, was Academic Decathlon, which the Sandpoint team had the honor of going to nationals last year. Marchiando said what she loves about Academic Decathlon is the “in-depth studying.” They study the economics, arts, music, social science — all the different aspects of one topic and get to “really dive into it.” It takes learning and studying, which is typically a solitary event, she said, and turns it into a team effort.

“What I really appreciate about Sandpoint High School is that I have the opportunity to find communities,” Marchiando said.”In AcaDeca I have my group there, in theater I have my group of performers and techies, and I love the community that we have.”

For SHS senior Casey Oleson, he found his calling and community as captain of the wrestling team his junior year. In that role, he realized the impact he had on others, and how the underclassmen looked up to him as a leader, he said.

“I realized that I needed to better myself as a person, just to also better the people who looked up to me,” Oleson said.

So he joined the mentors group at SHS, where the mentors teach a group of students about becoming leaders, as well as “how to spread happiness and become a better person all around.” He also participated in the first mini-RYLA, which stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Association, to help better himself as a mentor, he said.

“It pretty much taught me how to be an all-around better leader, listen to what people have to say, hold a good conversation with others, and also speak in front of others,” Oleson said.

LPOSD board members also had the honor of meeting Eliyah Allen, the young man with down syndrome who was voted by his peers as this year’s homecoming king. He got a crown and there were “a lot” of people, he said, before pointing to his classmates in the room and adding, “My friends.”

SHS senior Tori Hewitt was also supposed to present to the LPOSD board, however she was unable to attend the meeting. Albertson read a letter from Hewitt detailing her participation in clubs such as CyberPatriot, Business Professionals of America and her role as president of the National Honor Society. She has also taken all of Alex Gray’s information technology classes at SHS landing her an internship at Kochava where she has worked for the past year and a half. She is also dual enrolled, and will enter college next year as a freshman, Albertson said as he read her letter.

“Sandpoint High School has helped me find my interests and has helped me get into a job that I am passionate about and that I enjoy,” Hewitt wrote. “The counselors at our school, specifically Jeralyn Mire, worked with me multiple times a year, figuring out what classes I need to be taking to get me ahead in college and I am so grateful for that.”

Before departing, each student received a certificate of recognition from LPOSD superintendent Shawn Woodward and the board members.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.