From November 1 to 4, around 15 PHS student leaders and chaperones traveled to the Minority Student Achievement Network Student Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. During the four-day event, PHS students participated in thoughtful discussions on social justice issues with other students from around the country.

According to Bethany Siddiqu, coordinator of student and family services at PHS and one of the trip’s chaperones, the goals of the conference were twofold.

“[In] most school districts … there may not be as many students of color, [so] it's really hard for … those students to feel comfortable in the hallways and in class, and to feel represented. So MSAN is an opportunity for not only students but also for teachers and administration … to figure out ways to make their school more inclusive and supported,” Siddiqu said.

Sheena Ash ’25, a PHS junior who joined the district’s MSAN club in 7th grade, came to a similar conclusion, noting that the conference has given her an appreciation for the importance of her work.

“It's really integral to building … community in our school and making all of our minority students feel closer together,” said Ash. “I think it's really good that we [get to] represent the school as intelligent individuals who have voices and opinions on social justice initiatives.”

According to Assistant Principal Rashone Johnson, another part of the program's mission was to encourage minority students to challenge themselves academically.

“It’s about exposure,” said Johnson. “Educating students and letting them know that they are able to do the work and [they] got people that are here to help you with [it].”

One of the biggest parts of the trip was each school’s presentation on a school-specific solution that addresses social justice. In PHS’ case, it was the implementation of a platform called Tiger Talk, created to highlight the achievements of minority students.

“We want to make sure that in any school district, no matter if it's highly marginalized or diverse, that every single student has a time where they feel seen,” Ash said.

Another important part of the conference were lectures from minority community leaders. Ash found that MSAN was an opportunity to discuss difficult subjects, like violence and suicide.

“We had a lot of really personal moments; like, we had a speaker come and talk to talk about … the youth rate of violence and guns and all that stuff. He was talking about his family and all these obituaries that he [was] doing on the ground. It was a very sad moment. So we wanted to talk to make sure that we all felt … mentally OK, and that … we could still have an uplifted point of view and still focus on a social justice project, despite … hearing such discouraging things,” Ash said

Despite the challenging topics, both Siddiqu and Johnson have good memories from the trip.

“It was awesome. … I think [the students] did a great job representing themselves and … the school. There is not a single school that left that national conference that does not know who Princeton High School is,” Johnson said.

For Siddiqu, the best part was seeing MSAN members grow as leaders.

“I think that's the biggest takeaway, … being excited about what's to come next — what the kids can really do here,” Siddiqu said.