Cedar Springs — William Osech-Vincent is passionate about a lot of things, and one of the big ones is student leadership and engagement.
The Cedar Springs High School junior will have a chance to turbo-charge that passion with a week’s worth of hands-on workshops and activities at the Michigan Associations of Student Councils and Honor Societies’ MASC/MAHS Summer Leadership Camp at Albion College in late July.
William, who serves on the high school’s executive student council, received a $600 scholarship to attend the week-long leadership conference from MASC/MAHS.
He said he’s not sure what exactly to expect from the experience, but is excited to find out. Saying yes to opportunities for growth and development, he said, is a big part of his philosophy on the subject.
“Leadership, to me, means taking control of your own life,” William said. “Like, being the reason why things happen. Not letting everything happen to you, but being the reason it happens for you.”
William has been serving on student council in one way or another for about three years, since he was in eighth grade. Since his freshman year, he’s been the only underclassman on the executive council, which is otherwise populated by seniors.
As an executive council member, William developed a knack for organizing, collaborating, communicating and keeping track of council finances. He’s enjoyed planning out and executing school events, and working with others to “(bring) the whole school together.”
What’s the biggest lesson he’s learned from his involvement thus far? Patience, he said, and trusting your team.
“Before, I was very much, ‘I’ll do it myself if I want it done right.’ Before student council, I relied on myself,” he said. “Since joining executive (council), specifically, I had to let everything go and let people take control of things, which was hard for me at first, but now I’ve grown to rely on my council members and be patient with them.”
Many Interests, Big Dreams
William initially dove into student government after the death of his grandmother, Valerie Osech.
“She was like a second mother to me,” he said. “When she passed I went numb for a while; then, I found student leadership.
“I threw myself into student council as a coping mechanism. It’s not a coping mechanism anymore, because I fell in love with it.”
Losing his grandmother also led William to another one of his major passions: baking.
He said he grew up helping Osech in the kitchen — or, more accurately, licking frosting off of spoons while she did the baking.
“She’d always make banana bread every Saturday, and I had an addiction to her banana bread,” he said. “It’s those memories that I’ve loved so much, just hanging out with her in the kitchen.”
William decided to start his own baking business in his grandmother’s honor. It’s called Vin Osechi Delights, and it was recently registered as an LLC. The business originally came together as a Future Farmers of America project, but William loved the idea so much, he ran with it.
Last year, he donated 150 cookies for a student council event, and “they were gone in 15 minutes.”
William hopes to apply some of what he’s learned from student council, and what he’ll gain from the summer leadership camp, to a future as a small business owner. There’s a bakery in Cedar Springs that he’d love to buy and set up shop in, someday.
His plan is to attend the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and then Central in Michigan University to study business.
That may be subject to change, though, because yet another major interest area revealed itself when William took a media class from teacher Justin Harnden and realized he had a knack for creating content.
“I’m pretty good at it, and it made sense to me in a way that no other art form did,” he said. “Editing video, making posts, text itself — I found it all calming.”
‘Leadership, to me, means taking control of your own life.’
— junior William Osech-Vincent
He plans to make use of his media skills to document some of the goings-on at Summer Leadership Camp.
Whether he ends up in politics, media or running a bakery, William’s school community is sure he’ll succeed.
His principal, Todd Simmons, describes him as being “all in” on everything he does.
“He has taken extreme ownership of this school,” Simmons said. “He has been empowered to lead with his God-given talents.”
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