ABRHS Students Attend Leadership Training

When adults are considered for supervisory positions, their prior experience is carefully evaluated. When high school students are elected team captains, class officers, or club chairpersons, their leadership skills are often untested.

“Instead of presuming that leadership skills are innate or contextual, we are going to try to do more to provide our student leaders with instruction and support as we go forward,” said ABRHS principal Alixe Callen in a recent email message to parents.

The first step in realizing this goal occurred last Tuesday when David Jack, a local coach and motivational speaker hired by the PTSO, addressed a group of about eighty students.

Explaining that the margin between “good” and “great” is small, Jack showed the audience a video that illustrated his point. The film, 212 Degree Leadership, features facts about the separation between first and second-place finishers and encourages viewers to strive for the best possible outcomes.

Jack challenged the students to make a difference by doing things that are out of their comfort zones. One example: engage others in conversations and share aspirations.

“We walk around with our mouths closed, not talking to people…and the answer is right in front of us,” said Jack, who explained that a “stranger in an elevator” may have important information to impart.

Using personal anecdotes, statistics, and news stories, Jack illustrated the good that can come when young men and women use their abilities to mentor peers.

Jack recommended that students read Stephen Covey’s The 8^th Habit. The  book is about finding one’s voice and inspiring others to find theirs.

“Identify the greatness in others and help them achieve it,” said Jack.

Jack cautioned students by sharing an instance where an isolated teenager was lost to suicide.

“There was a note found,” said Jack. “It read, If someone says hello to me today, I won’t do it.”

“Use your influence to make a difference,” Jack said. “There are people who need you.”

Jack speculated that most teens are introduced to alcohol and drugs by friends.

“Who offers it to you? Who says ‘Try this?’” said Jack. “Don’t do it to somebody else—somebody you love.”

Explaining that a percentage of teenagers who experiment with substances will become addicted, Jack told students not to take that risk.

“We’ll be telling stories about you to help other people,” he said of those who disregard his advice and are among that group.

Jack outlined five components of success:

• Live from a Vision and Purpose
• Advocate for Others
• Be Courageous
• Have Tolerance
• Use Your Strength to Serve

Jack told students to “follow the Golden Rule.”

“It’s the #1 thing you need to do to be a great leader,” he said.

Stating that engendering trust will earn students the right to make a difference in other people’s lives, Jack predicted that they would benefit as well. 

“It’ll come back to you,” he said. “You can’t make it alone.”

Acknowledging that those in the audience were future leaders inside and outside the high school, Jack charged them with making choices that will benefit future generations.

“I’m on my way out,” said Jack.  “What you do will help take care of my kids.”

After listening to Jack’s presentation, students had high praise for his messages. Junior Forrest Gill said, “His points were solid. He made a lot of things clear.”

Alexis Handelman, also a junior, said, “He did a good job drilling things into us that we already know.”

Sophomores Tess Little and Allie Renzi, members of the Principal’s Advisory Committee, felt that the material presented will helpful to them as they fulfill their responsibilities.

“A lot of it relates to our group,” said Little. “It was intense.”

“It gave me a lot to think about,” said Renzi.