Youth Leadership Academy at SCC

8/1/08

For eight years, Shawnee Community College Adult Education department has sponsored a summer Youth Leadership Academy. Each year about 20 area students are selected from nominations from local high school guidance counselors. Students completing the program receive three college credit hours and attend the academy at no cost to the student or local high school.

This year, participants experienced the exhilarating Tony Calabrese from SIU Carbondale. Calabrese is a superb leader who has coached NCAA Champions and Olympians. His focus for the academy was team-building activities. In addition to Calabrese, Jody Johnson from the U of I Extension Center and Paul McKnight from Massac Housing Authority spoke to the group on ways to get involved in school and in their communities. On Wednesday, the group travels to Giant City Lodge to listen to Rodney Gholson of Vienna explain the benefits of setting personal goals.

Program Director, James Darden, said, "The goal of the program is to challenge students to get involved on a local level and exercise their leadership potential. Every student that attends the program just can not say enough good things about the long-term benefits to them."

Shawnee Community College feels this is an excellent way to help students discover their leadership ability and talent, plus many of our SCC ambassadors come from the program. For more information for next years' academy, please call James Darden at 618-634-3325.

Students participating in the 2008 Youth Leadership Academy were:
Back row, left to right: SCC staff members James Darden and Ginger McBride; Devin Holder, Meridian High School; Andrea Purchase, Cairo High School; James Baker, Century High School; Jamie Temke, Colt Garret, Brandon McElmurry, all of Meridian High School, Bobby Hoffman, Vienna High School; Stefan Messmer, Goreville High School; Anastasia Atkinson, Joppa High School; and SCC staff members, Pam O'Connor and Christina Wright.
Front row: Brianna Hammon, Meridian High School; Morgan Hubbard, Century High School; Arreal Watts, Meridian High School; Shazad Ahmed, Century High School; Cheyenne Butler, Lauren Franco, Savanna Butler, Ayesha Ahmed, all of Century High School; Jenna Harner, Anna-Jonesboro, and Katie Inman, Century High School.