The Evolution of MCR Workshops

For the third year in a row, MCR kicked off the 2022-2023 school year with a week of summer workshops. With workshops covering topics like Parliamentary Procedure, Event-Planning, Communication, Testifying, and other department specific skills — MCR has ensured that their executive board members are equipped to start the year with the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful.

Indeed, the workshops have proven to be a helpful asset to board members, an opportunity for experienced leaders to break down key skills for new-comers, to make the most of opportunities in student government. They make “advocacy as a whole seem less intimidating” especially because they provide “the skills you need, it really opens a lot of doors,” said Shairee Arora, current MCR president, who also served as secretary three years ago when the summer workshops were first introduced. Press Director Eugene Choi concurred, commenting “they (the workshops) helped me gain skills last year, and” with them “now I can share my expertise.” The workshops began three years ago when MCR began receiving more applications, many of which were coming from students brand new to advocacy. “You come into MCR and there’s a lot of new skills you need to learn quickly, so we decided to utilize the time in the summer,” said Arora. The Maryland Association of Student Councils, MASC has hosted workshops for years, proving to be a great strength for the organization. MCR officers involved in the organization were inspired to introduce the idea to Montgomery County. Taking advice from MASC officers and planning - they ultimately produced the series of summer workshops well-known and beloved by MCR members today. Each year, the MCR summer workshops evolve and improve. Some improvements Arora listed were the incorporation of directors teaching rather than just officers. In addition MCR introduced workshop coordinators: whose job is to ensure they are interactive. MCJC, the middle-school counterpart to MCR, has been included to allow middle schoolers in student advocacy learning opportunities as well. Arora hopes that, like many aspects of MCR, the summer workshops will continue to evolve and improve, saying “I want to continue making them interactive.” To have “more students to come and teach workshops” results in “even more students trained” The peer-to-peer nature of the workshops have made them a very helpful asset to MCR executive board members. Check out any and all workshops from this summer on Youtube @MoCo Regional SGA.

Written by Norah D'Cruze and Allison J. Khani

Published by PR Department