NEH students develop leadership skills at Congressional Summit

The inaugural 4th Congressional District Youth Summit was held recently in Mason City. More than 40 high school students spent a day with Congressman Tom Latham, the event’s sponsor, participating in leadership-growth skill-building workshops and presentations aimed at helping the students formulate their life goals.

"The inaugural Youth Leadership Conference was a huge success," said Latham. "The students were exceptionally bright and I was impressed with how quickly they took to the leadership lessons."

Kamrar resident Shane Klaver and Blairsburg residents Chris Jesseus, Michelle Hoiersten, Kali Richardson and Rachel Vaughn, all of Northeast Hamilton High School, joined other students from all corners of Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District to hear Congressman Latham and University of Northern Iowa-based leadership consultants provide information about becoming assertive and ethical communicators.

One unique activity required students to make friends with lemons—personalizing them by giving them faces in the morning and holding onto them all day long. Throughout the day, students talked with the lemons, asked them questions, and imprinted a personality onto the sour fruit. The lesson: At the end of the day, if you can make friends with a lemon, you can make friends with anyone. Students were inspired to go out and widen their circle of friends, including other students sometimes considered to be lemons in high school.

The students also attended communication sessions where they were taught how to use direct statements. A direct and firm "yes" was taught as the way leaders answer questions in the affirmative, as opposed to "yeah," "sure," or "I guess so." Students were also directed on the ethics of communications; 'say what you mean and mean what you say' was the order of business for the day.

Latham was pleased with the successful outcome of the conference.

"My goal was that each participant will walk away with this summit with a memorable experience that continues them on the leadership path they have set for themselves. The students were able to demonstrate many of the leadership techniques and, they can take those back to school, to college, and into their careers," said Latham.

The next Youth Leadership Conference is being planned for the fall of 2008 in Ames.