TEENS FROM ACROSS THE U.S. ADDRESS SOCIAL CONCERNS
AT MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE’S ‘TAKE THE LEAD’ PROGRAM

Annual leadership conference scheduled for Oct. 17- 20

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – One wants to organize a job fair for the homeless in Boston. Another wants to help Mexican migrant families. A third hopes to use tape-recorded stories to connect mothers in prison with their young children. In all, forty bright, motivated high school juniors, each with her own plan for making a positive change in the world, will converge on Mount Holyoke College to take part in Take the Lead, an annual teen leadership conference that will take place on October 17, 18, 19, and 20.

The four-day conference will offer each participant the opportunity to hone her leadership skills through workshops, guest speakers, mentoring and the development of a social action project of her choice. Each will be paired with a Mount Holyoke student who has been trained as a mentor at the College’s Weissman Center for Leadership.

Nearly 700 candidates from across the country were nominated by their counselors, teachers, religious or community leaders, and other adult mentors for Take the Lead. They 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 their insight and motivation. The participants also tend to be at the top five percent of their class and are leaders within and beyond their schools.

“Take the Lead is all about helping young women develop confidence and the ability to make a difference in the world,” said program chair Patricia VandenBerg, the College’s executive director of communications and strategic initiatives.

The program’s four components are designed to build confidence and leadership with a special focus on social activism and diversity:

Workshops: All students will attend workshops on team building and public speaking, which are vital to anyone in a leadership position. They can then choose additional workshops in fundraising / budgeting, conflict resolution, time management, community organizing, and getting publicity.

Mentoring: Each Take the lead participant will be paired with a Mount Holyoke College student specially trained by the College’s Weissman Center for Leadership. The mentors will work one- on-one with them to develop their action project, continuing to offer advice, feedback and support through email until the project is complete, for up to six months.

The Action Project: Throughout the weekend, the students will develop a plan addressing an issue that they feel passionate about. Projects from past years included a play about capital punishment, flower planting in an inner-city neighborhood, and diversity training for high school teachers. The College will award $500 prizes to three completed action plans.

Guest Speakers:

• Alexandra Gromko, a member of the College’s class of 1991, is an Emmy award-winning news anchor with ABC affiliate WTVQ-TV in Lexington, Kentucky. She wrote and produced the half-hour documentary Russia: The Next Generation, which was aired on PBS stations and is now used in embassies around the world. She has received two Emmy awards, the first in 1998 for her series on domestic violence and the second in 2000 for her story on "Coping with Cancer."

• Simisola Sanni, a member of the College’s class of 1997, helped to create and headed a new Junior Achievement program in Nigeria. A Nigerian herself, Sanni saw how badly the country's educational system had declined and believed that future business leaders would be needed to rebuild Nigeria's collapsed economy. A multiyear challenge grant from Procter & Gamble made it possible to launch the program, with Simi serving as its first executive director. By June 2002, Junior Achievement Nigeria had surpassed all targets by reaching more than 13,000 students in more than 40 schools.

• Patricia VandenBerg, the director of Take the Lead, is a nationally recognized authority in communications and leading change. A professor, college administrator, and consultant, she has worked with individuals and groups across the country helping them hone their ability to lead and to create positive change. Much of VandenBerg's work has focused on empowering women and girls. Participants will use her "leadership change model" as the basis for developing plans for their action projects.

Since its establishment in 2000, Take the Lead has helped scores of young women to turn their ideas into action. “My mentor really helped me to think about ways to execute my action project,” said Lindsay Mecca, who wrote a one-act play, The Nearly Departed, to address what she sees as the injustices of capital punishment. “It was inspiring to work with someone who shares the desire to achieve goals that sometimes seem unattainable.” The Nearly Departed won Mecca a spot as one of four finalists in the Young Connecticut Playwright's Festival.

Founded in 1837 by educational pioneer Mary Lyon, Mount Holyoke College is one of the nation’s finest liberal arts colleges. Rigorous academics, an internationally diverse student body, and integration of cutting-edge technologies throughout the curriculum create an environment that prepares women to become leaders in an increasingly complex world.