BY WIL CREWS
SPORTSCREWS@OELIKAOBSERVER.COM
LEE COUNTY —
The Lee County Young Leaders program is preparing local students to be figureheads of the next generation.
“[The program] is really preparing our youth for future challenges,” said Mackenzie Poole, director of leadership and events with the Opelika Chamber of Commerce and overseer of the Lee County Young Leaders program.
Lee County Young Leaders, which is in its 10th year, is designed to nurture and develop positive leadership qualities in local high school students. Participants are exposed to a variety of viewpoints that illustrate the political, educational and social factors at work in Lee County in an effort to develop the knowledge, tools and contacts necessary to be an impactful leader.
According to its website, Lee County Young Leaders’ overarching vision is to ensure youth are prepared as leaders to meet future challenges that arise in our city, county or state.
To actualize this vision, the program participants attend 10 leadership-focused sessions, including an orientation and graduation, over the course of a school year. It is during these sessions that the students meet area leaders in business, media, government, education and service organizations. In addition, the students also receive a one-hour Leadership credit to Southern Union State Community College.
“We try to tie the leadership lesson to who they are talking to, what they are learning,” Poole said. “So kind of big, overarching themes. And they have leadership lessons to find for each day.”
This year, 34 students from nine different Lee County high schools are enrolled in the program.
“This current class is the largest we have ever had,” Poole said. “They are a great group. We have long days, but we have fun.”
While the program was initially for juniors in high school, the COVID-19 pandemic set things back and resulted in a mixed group of juniors and seniors for 2022-23.
“We skipped a year but had selected the junior class to participate,” Poole said. “So, last year’s class, instead of just saying ‘hey, sorry you missed out,’ we did a full year of seniors. This year … instead of going back to juniors to where we are still missing someone … is a mixture.”
Students are selected for the Lee County Young Leaders program through an anonymous application process that is judged on application neatness, extracurricular activities, career choice and hobbies and leadership potential.
“It’s a different committee every year,” Poole said of the selection committee.
To participate in the Lee County Young Leaders program, students must meet the following criteria:
– Reside in Lee County, Alabama
– Attend a city or county regionally accredited high school, private or home school in Lee County
– Must be willing and able to attend all the sessions
– Be an 11th grade or 12th grade student during the period of the class program
– Must be up to date on core classes
– Maintain a 3.0 grade-point average and
– Provide own transportation to session.
This month, the group completed session six of the program: Economic Development Day. On Jan. 11, the students had the privilege of touring the new Rane Center at Auburn University, the Delta Airlines Aviation Building at Auburn University, Aptar Technologies in Auburn and the Center for Integrated Technologies at Southern Union State Community College, as well as enjoying lunch at the new Hey Day Market.
“One thing that was really touched on in the economic development session was that I think our students take for granted the great area that we live in,” Poole said. “I think it’s an amazing opportunity for them to see we live in a great area. And showing them that before they take these next steps gives them an understanding that this is a great community and [hopefully] will make them want to come back and give back.”
According to its website, Lee County Young Leaders’ goals are:
– To select a diverse class of highly motivated participants who represent the diversity of racial, ethnic and socio-economic groups in Lee County, Alabama.
– To explore the diverse facets of Lee County’s government, business, economic development, health care, criminal justice and other aspects of community life
– To instill and nurture a sense of social responsibility in our youth
– To provide opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds to meet and develop mutual understanding, respect and trust
– To offer participants opportunities for volunteer community involvement and service and
– To encourage our youth to find satisfying job opportunities so he/she will come home to Lee County to live, learn, work, worship, play and raise his/her family.
The ultimate goal, however, is that graduates of the Lee County Young Leaders program will possess a unique understanding and appreciation of the inner workings of their community and will return home as excellent future candidates to serve on local boards, committees and task forces.
“Yeah we understand you may not want to work in this specific industry, but these are all top-notch world-class facilities that you by living here have the opportunity,” Poole said. “You are a leader and you have conversations with people, so we want them to share that knowledge that they are taking with them.”
The students in the Lee County Young Leaders program have completed six sessions to date: Introductions & Orientation Day, Team Building Day, Education Day, Public Safety Day, Health & Human Services Day and most recently, Economic Development Day. Judicial Day, State Government Day and Local Government Day are scheduled to be completed before graduation April 25.
For more information regarding the Lee County Young Leaders Program, visit: www.opelikachamber.com/leadership-development/lcyl/#:~:text=Program%20Vision%3A%20Ensuring%20our%20youth,in%20our%20high%20school%20students.