The first-ever Poway student to take the mic as student MC at AVID´s national conference, freshman Kaylee Bedard, will represent students nationwide at AVID’s yearly National Conference (NatCon) on December 12th, 2025.
At NatCon, a professional learning conference held this year in San Diego, Bedard will interview AVID alumni from Not By Chance, a collection of stories that offers an in-depth look at the true meaning of AVID and guides the audience through AVID practices such as questioning strategies and Socratic-seminar-style discussion.
Bedard first joined AVID in sixth grade after her brother applied. After being in AVID for a couple of years, she decided to stay after AVID gave her confidence and a sense of belonging in her community.
“It gives me a sense of stability,” Berdard said. Over time, that stability helped shape her into the kind of student NatCon looks for. Confident and able to connect with others, according to AVID teacher Sherri Locke.
Her journey toward being selected began two summers ago, when she found out about a program called AVID Summer Institute to help educate teachers on the helpful methods from AVID to apply in their regular classes
“AVID Summer Institute is a professional development event for educators that offers training on the AVID program’s methods and strategies to enhance student college and career readiness,” Sherry Lockie said.
NatCON insisted on only having an engaged, collaborative, and outstanding student to even be considered as a student MC. Bedard not only exceeded those expectations, but was described as the perfect AVID student.
“She’s very engaging, always volunteering, going out of her way to help her community. Kaylee not only has a huge positive impact on students and teachers, but also shows the true meaning of AVID,” Lockie said.
A recent Zoom meeting offered her both the full schedule and confirmation for the National Conference. This is the first glimpse of the leaders she’ll stand beside when she steps onto the stage and represents all students nationwide.
