When Circle USD 375 superintendent Don Potter began the process of assembling a student advisory team earlier this year, senior Aubrey Martin was like a moth to a flame.
 
Martin, a student in the Circle district since kindergarten, has been on student council throughout high school. And last year, she and three fellow classmates were part of Youth Leadership Butler, a program connecting service-minded high school juniors from across Butler County.
 
“I just love working on these committees,” said Martin, the Capitol Federal® True Blue® Student of the Week. “Youth Leadership Butler was kind of the same format. We came together and defined issues in our communities, and put together solutions. This reminded me a lot of that, and it’s what attracted me.”
 
Martin brings a unique perspective to the 18-member advisory team, which recently held its kickoff meeting. Of the appointed members from Circle High School and Circle Middle School, she is the lone senior.
 
The team plans to tackle a more detailed agenda at its second gathering next week.
 
“I started this with the purpose of it being their team, not Mr. Potter’s team,” Potter said. “We’re doing it in hopes of giving students more of a voice at the middle school and high school levels. I’m just there to be a vehicle.”
 
Potter opened advisory team applications to all students at CHS and CMS. In Martin, he found a leader others gravitated toward. The group chose her as president at its organizational meeting.
 
“Here she is, the lone senior and she’s getting ready to leave for college and basically has a semester left,” Potter said. “She wants to be involved in this. The rest of the group quickly voted her in as president, which told me a lot about her leadership.
 
“She recently reached out to me and wanted to discuss the next meeting agenda. I wanted people on that team to take charge. She’s well beyond her years in that regard.”
 
Martin says she hasn’t always been that way. Admittedly shy through elementary school and middle school, Martin found her voice when she was elected to stuco as a freshman. She currently serves as president of that organization, as well.
 
“One thing I do love about all these leadership roles is they’re kind of a way to let me help others and grow,” Martin said. “I used to have a public speaking teacher, and his whole schtick was he wasn’t good at public speaking. But that’s why he went into it – to help others who weren’t good at it.
 
“That’s kind of how I think of it – me helping others who aren’t as confident in themselves like I used to be. That’s why I enjoy it.”
 
Martin has immersed herself in a wide range of activities at Circle.
 
While working through academic requirements of the Kansas Scholars Curriculum, which has her on track to be the class valedictorian, Martin’s senior schedule includes two internship blocks. She works under Circle Public Schools director of community relations and development Sara Potter as a student social media manager.
 
Martin, who is interested in marketing, has created gameday graphics and player spotlight features for Circle football. She’s also created an Instagram account for the boys basketball team and written articles for the school’s website.
 
“This year the focus has been more on sports, which I’m interested in,” said Martin, who played for Circle’s tennis team as a junior and senior. “When boys basketball comes around, that’s my big passion, and I’ll be doing gamedays and result graphics for them.”
 
Martin, a National Honor Society member, also provides tutoring assistance along with her fellow members to other high school students. Often it is in math, her favorite subject.
 
In addition, she uses her second internship block to serve as a T-Bird Tutor for elementary students in the district. In that role, Martin works with Lynne Smith, her former kindergarten teacher and current library specialist at Circle Towanda Elementary, helping students with reading and checking out library books.
 
“I like that because I can work with kids of all ages,” Martin said. “And it’s just cool to see all the teachers that you used to go to school with. It’s kind of a full circle thing. When we were little kids, we were like, ‘We’re going to do that when we’re older,’ and now we’re doing it.”
 
While T-Bird Tutoring has taken Martin on a sentimental journey, her work on the superintendent’s advisory team will be more forward focused. Members were given an assignment before their second meeting.
 
“Our main thing is just to improve our community and do whatever it takes to improve things for our students,” Martin said. “Mr. Potter is really great about that. He believes you never say you can’t because there’s always a way to do something. There’s always a way to improve your student body. That’s kind of our thing.

“During our last meeting, I told everyone go talk to two or three students in your grade and just ask them what issues they see, what are some things we can improve on. We’ll be diving a little deeper into that.”

Martin would like to explore ways to get fellow students more involved in activities outside of the classroom. She said club particpation at Circle declined during Covid, and some went dormant.

“I really love what I do with stuco, but not everybody has something like that,” Martin said. “That’s one of the things I would like to put out there.

“I think I would just really like to get our name out in the district and kind of set that precedent. It’s going to be such an honor to be part of this, but a lot of people don’t even know it’s a thing right now. I’d like to leave a legacy where every year, more and more students will want to apply.”

Martin said with a class of approximately 130 students, Circle has been a perfect fit for her. Her ties run deep, as both of her parents graduated from the school.
 
“Coach (Logan) Clothier always says to me, ‘You bleed blue and gold,’ and I think that’s very true,” Martin said. “Wherever you go to school, I think you need to have pride in that and promote it.”