September
24, 2004
MHC
Teen Leadership Conference Welcomes 40 High School Juniors
In what
is becoming a vibrant yearly tradition at Mount Holyoke, 40 high
school juniors from across the country will travel to campus
from September 30 to October 3 for Take the Lead, an intensive
four-day teen leadership conference that gives young women the
tools to turn ideas for social change into action.
The program, now in its fifth year, has inspired and equipped scores of young
women to bring their ideas to life. In fact, past participants have been very
successful in carrying forward action plans developed during the intensive weekend
to address social and political challenges of every type. Among many successes
from recent years is Shanté Basset, who organized a program at her high
school in Queens, New York, that helped students break down the stereotype of
apathetic teens and become involved in important causes. Her Youth Get Involved
(YGI) program has been so successful that it has become a permanent organization
and was selected as a winner in the Fleet Entrepreneurship Month Competition
sponsored by the Citizens Committee for New York City.
And Heidi Roop ’07, now a Mount Holyoke sophomore and speaker at this year’s
conference, organized a fund drive to supply school supplies to impoverished
Mexican students while raising awareness of the environmental hazards that deforestation
in Mexico is posing to the migrating monarch butterfly.
“This is a program that shows young women that they are capable of achieving
goals well beyond what they have imagined,” said program chair and founder
Patricia VandenBerg, the College’s executive director of communications
and strategic initiatives. “Too often, even the most successful girls and
women in our society feel that they do not deserve their success. Take the Lead
has helped its participants appreciate the power they have and put it to use.”
VandenBerg also noted that this year is the first to include a research component
that will be added to assess the long-term effects of the program on participants.
That research is made possible by an $180,000 grant from Jean Beard of Amherst
through her Icarus Foundation. The grant will underwrite the research and help
support the cost of the program.
“This support is an affirmation that this young program is already setting
a standard for leadership development,” VandenBerg said.
Each participant will be paired with a Mount Holyoke student mentor who has been
trained at the College’s Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal
Arts. The program of lectures, workshops, brainstorming, and mentoring helps
each participant develop a detailed plan to effect positive change in her school,
community, or the world at large. This year’s participants come from 22
states and represent every region of the country. At the same time, a number
of students come from Massachusetts, including South Hadley, Holyoke, Northampton,
and Amherst.
This year, more than 300 candidates were nominated by their counselors, teachers,
religious or community leaders, and other adult mentors. The participants were
chosen on the basis of their potential for leadership and making a difference,
as demonstrated by their academic, extracurricular, and community involvement,
as well as insight and motivation. Mentors keep in touch with their participants,
generally through email, over the six months following the conference, offering
advice and encouragement when appropriate.
According to Roop—who was a Take the Lead participant three years ago and
has gone on to become a mentor and guest speaker—the program “keeps
getting better. It’s a great opportunity to come to campus as a high school
student and see that you are not alone in wanting to formulate change. The chance,
too, to spend time with Mount Holyoke students who have already accomplished
so much is a real inspiration to high school juniors.” In her first year,
Roop put together a program at her high school in Appleton, Wisconsin, to send
school supplies and clothes to an impoverished school in Mexico. As a senior,
she worked to support a school in Panama. Gratifyingly, after her graduation,
her high school continues the program, supporting a school in Ecuador last year.
Outstanding Mount Holyoke students, alumnae, and faculty will be guest participants
during the weekend.
The
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