CGA,
CCHS students attend conference
Staff report
NOTRE DAME - Student and faculty teams from Culver Community High School
and Culver Girls Academy attended a Leadership Conference together this
summer at St. Mary's College.
Amanda Miller CCHS '06, Theresa Weirick, CCHS '07, Jodie Davenport CGA
'07, Demi DeHays CGA '06, CGA Leadership Coordinator Nancy McKinnis,
Academies Chaplain Tom Steffen and Culver Community Guidance Directors
Brenda Sheldon and Kendra Hundt joined a diverse group of teams from 10
private and public schools from across the United States representing
Indiana, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Ohio during the week of July
13-20.
Sponsored by St Mary's Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership, the
focus of the program, titled "The Intercultural Promise: Forming a
New Generation of Women Leaders," was to foster leadership in young
women by bringing together high school educators and students to think
creatively about ways to build peaceful and compassionate communities.
As student body president, Miller left thinking of ways students in her
school could improve in areas such as pride in their school, themselves
and their community.
"Kids
just don't care about anything or themselves," she said.
She also enjoyed being with other girls and seeing the differences in
the schools. For example one school took pride in its tradition while
another school, being only five years old, had no traditions. Another
school proposed putting more activities on campus to help eliminate its
drug use problems.
The opposite was true for Weirick. "I was glad to see the schools
weren't all that different," she said. The conference also helped
her see the similarities with the Academies students. "I felt more
connected with the Academy girls than anyone there," she said.
According to Sheldon, Miller and Weirick were chosen to attend the
conference as student leaders interested in helping to improve their
school.
DeHays saw the conference as a way to bring the schools together.
"I felt it would be a good thing for both schools and might allow
us to get to know each other better and eventually collaborate on
projects of mutual interest and concern," she said.
Davenport
and DeHays agreed changes needed to be made within the Academies first.
"I have a new way to look at problems as issues, not
problems," said Davenport. "We need to look at issues bit by
bit and not become overwhelmed."
They plan to use a teen circle as a safe place for students to build
relationships, as a time of reflection and to talk about issues.
Both schools generated ideas and strategies for change in their school
communities. Seminar topics and activities fostered women's
intercultural leadership and enhanced skills to facilitate
cross-cultural understanding, peace building and conflict resolution.
Each school developed an action plan to implement change and is eligible
to apply for a $1,000 grant to support the plan.
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