Students from Dallas County high schools gathered Friday morning to give thanks.

The group, which consisted of leaders from public and private schools, came together for the annual Youth Thanksgiving Prayer Breakfast at the Carl Morgan Convention Center to celebrate their accomplishments and plan for new conquests in the coming year.

Selma City Councilmember Bennie Ruth Crenshaw, who planned the event and works closely with the group, said bringing students together from different backgrounds paves the way for a positive future.

“I love to have the kids sit and talk to each other because they just don’t know what they can learn from each other,” she said. “Regardless of your looks and the way you feel about things, we can all communicate and get things done for this city. That’s what this group is all about.”

The students, Crenshaw said, will take the reigns of Selma in the near future and need a plan and leadership experience to succeed.

“You are the future,” she said. “And all of the ways we feel about things, we need to put them aside and move forward.”

One of the guest speakers at the breakfast, Selma City Councilmember Monica Newton, assured the group there will be challenges they can overcome and compared them to the story of David and Goliath.

“The giants in your life can look like all sorts of things. They can look like a lack of resources, or they might look like a family that has never sent anyone to college,” she said. “It can be anything that seems immovable like an injustice. There are giants that we face in many forms or fashions.”

The giants people face, Newton said, should encourage, not discourage, the students.

“It’s a constant reminder of who we serve and that all things are possible,” she said. “It’s also a reminder that we are on the path we need to be on.

“God has amazing plans for your life. I encourage you to share stories because we all may look different and come from different families, but the giants we face in our lives have all done the same things.”

Youth Mayor Whitney Stanley, a senior at Selma High School who has been in the program for four years, addressed the crowd by reminding them it is important to count blessings during the holidays.

“We have so much to be thankful for and so many things that we take for granted,” she said. “This program is so great because it gives us a chance to share our thankfulness and plan.”