Teenagers participate in CSC leadership conference

“We are really happy with the way our conference turned out, especially for it being the first time. It turned out even better than I expected it would,” said Karissa Johnson of Hershey, president of Student Senate.

The conference, which was organized and conducted entirely by CSC students, offered many group and individual exercises to help the high school students become better leaders.

One session required the students to construct marshmallow sculptures and relay the instructions to others, written and verbally, well enough for the same sculptures to be created without seeing the original.

Another exercise challenged the students to act as high school board members charged with the task of resolving issues posed by a reduction in state aid.

In addition, a pair of skits by the senators gave examples of the proper and improper ways to conduct a meeting.

The conference also featured a greeting by CSC President Dr. Janie Park and an address by Arnold J. Bateman, associate vice chancellor for extended education and outreach at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Bateman is the father of Dr. Mathew Bateman, CSC assistant professor of physical and life sciences.

Johnson said the high school students weren’t the only ones to benefit from the conference.

“By hosting this event, I think we all became better leaders,” she said.

Following is a list of the high school students who participated in the event:

Arthur – Brian Dye, Sable Gardner, Katie Penner, Marty Vasa.

Fort Morgan (Colo.) – Kendra Bohm, Mark Farnik, Conor Kokes, Allison Mcgraw, Danika Tibbetts.

Mitchell – Ali Keener, Brittany Schmidt, Jory Zurcher.

Pine Ridge Job Corps – Jason Epperson, Molly Galvan, Robert Perez, David Villanueva, Kevin Williams.

Sidney – Megan Adams, Mike Deines, Jordan Estrada, Mindy Hagan, Tess Joyce.

Sioux County – Max Federle, Kody Lotton, Alex Munson, Chelsey Zimmerman.

Wheatland (Wyo.) – Paige Bosch, Jeremiah Singleton, Saharazon Williams.

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