WCCC Rising Senior Selected for Ohio Student Safety Advisory Council

Please join us in congratulating Trevor Banks, a rising senior in the Warren County Career Center Pre-Nursing program, for being selected to serve on the Ohio Student Safety Advisory Council for 2025–2026!

Trevor is one of just 16 students across the state chosen by the Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC) to help shape the future of school safety. As a council member, Trevor will collaborate with school safety experts, attend statewide summits, and develop strategies to promote safe, supportive school environments for all students. His voice will help represent not only WCCC, but students across Ohio as he advocates for peer well-being, violence prevention, and emotional safety.

The release below is courtesy of Ohio School Safety Center:

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — The Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC) announced today that 16 Ohio high school students have been selected for the 2025-2026 Ohio Student Safety Advisory Council.

Governor Mike DeWine created the council in 2022 to help OSSC leadership identify school safety concerns and develop innovative solutions to address them. Students from last year’s council will be presenting their capstone projects at the 2025 School Safety Summit in June.

“I am thoroughly impressed with the caliber of our student council this year,” said OSSC Executive Director Emily Torok. “Not only have they run with their capstone projects in their schools, they have approached community members, legislators, and even local businesses to take their projects to the next level for statewide implementation.”

The council will be invited to attend the in-person Ohio School Safety Summit on June 9-10 at the Columbus Convention Center to network with their peers and attend initial informational sessions on violence prevention strategies and emotional safety.

Council members will develop strategies to encourage their peers to actively engage in maintaining a safe school environment and will be advocates for students’ overall well-being. Students will work directly with OSSC school safety liaisons and mobile training officers to organize events, focus groups, and trainings to help highlight student success and safety best practices at various schools. These members will also act as a sounding board for the Ohio School Safety Working Group and OSSC on student marketing campaigns and other projects to ensure that student voices are represented. 

The 16 new students selected for the Ohio Student Safety Advisory Council include:

• Aleeza-Moriah Israel, Ohio Virtual Academy, Brown County
• Abbie Thoman, West Liberty-Salem High School, Champaign County
• Caroline Spitznagel, Beaumont School, Cuyahoga County
• Elizabeth Hernandez, Normandy High School, Cuyahoga County
• Hamsika Kurri, Olentangy Berlin High School, Delaware County
• Tessa Tripp, Hamilton Township High School, Franklin County
• Rida Imran Tahir, Laurel School, Geauga County
• Grace Nguyen, Indian Hill High School, Hamilton County
• Nathan Colagross, Mentor High School, Lake County
• Grace Emery, Granville High School, Licking County
• Ava Canada, Wadsworth High School, Medina County
• Sarah-Ann Teague, Wayne High School, Montgomery County
• Gianna Phillips, Alliance High School, Stark County
• Kailynn Halker, Delphos Jefferson High School, Van Wert County
• Trevor Banks, Warren County Career Center, Warren County
• Elizabeth Morrison, Belpre High School, Washington County

Council members were selected based on their responses to a series of essays on how school safety has impacted their life, what ideas they have for improvement, and how they plan to represent not just their school, but others across the state on the council. In addition to the essays, each applicant had to obtain a letter of support from a school staff member.

Governor DeWine created the Ohio School Safety Center in 2019. It is housed within the Ohio Department of Public Safety and works to assist local schools, colleges and universities, and law enforcement agencies to prevent, prepare for, and respond to threats and acts of violence, including self-harm, through a holistic, solutions-based approach to improving school safety.