Smiling and greeting her fellow Peer Counselors, the newly elected Pooh Bah (leader) junior Lydia Manly takes charge of Peer Counseling. Spreading positivity and kindness, Manly lights up every room she walks in. Continuing to shine more chances and opportunities for PC to gain attention, and aid the school with student-led support.

     “My plan as Peer Counseling president is to spread awareness of the club. We want the entire school to know who we are and what we stand for,” she said.

   Last year, Manly was the mentoring leader and did an amazing job thinking of ideas to get the word out about the club.

   “I am looking forward to meeting all our new members and creating close bonds and relationships with everyone. PC is full of a wide and diverse group of students with incredibly unique personalities,” Manly said. Manly is involved in several other clubs, such as the Bee Green Club, Link Crew, NHS, and California Scholarship Federation.

   “Lydia is friendly, outgoing, and a natural leader. I know that she is going to be an amazing Pooh Bah and lead PC’s in the right direction,” counselor Karly Wardwell said.

   “A goal of mine during my presidency is advancing our club, whether that’s advocating through our club’s social media or putting a segment on the Titan News. A lot of people are unaware and uneducated about our club, and I want to make sure everyone knows what our club is,” Manly said.

   Vice Pooh Bah, sophomore Ellie Grant said that “ I’ve known Lydia for four years, and she has always been someone that I look up to. Lydia is kind, hard-working and creative when it comes to new ideas. It’s always a highlight of my day when we work together.”

   From all the way back to freshman year, when Lydia joined PC, it was clear she had a passion for helping others.“She has already hit the ground running. She is always the first to volunteer for every opportunity and loves helping others,” Wardwell said.

   Manly was elected by her PC peers and continues to welcome new peer counselors with games, retreats, and activities like Lucky Duck. It is a feature of every PC meeting that involves trying to snatch the lucky rubber duck. The counselors gather in a circle to try and catch the duck, as the former winner spins in the middle and throws the duck randomly. If you catch this duck you are assumed to be bestowed luck, and with the following meeting you have to share on a lucky experience that happened.

   “My favorite memory in Peer Counseling is every time we do Lucky Duck. Everyone gets super competitive and winning it is a big deal. Plus, the Lucky Duck gives you luck. Who doesn’t want to be lucky?” Manly said.