Youth Leadership program provides opportunities for Mississippi youth

Some people seemed destined to lead. But for most of us, becoming an effective and inspiring leader takes preparation, hard work and determination.

First we must be motivated to serve others through leadership and take the initiative to make things happen. There’s nothing passive about a leader!

That, in a nutshell, is what we hope to teach high school juniors at the Electric Power Associations of Mississippi Youth Leadership Workshop. We want them to understand why leadership is important, how to prepare for it and how to use it to improve life in one’s school, community, state or nation.

Last month, 58 high school juniors from around the state took part in our 20th annual workshop, a three-day event held in Jackson. The students are among the best and brightest in their class; each one earned the trip to the workshop by successfully competing in a competition sponsored by his or her local electric power association. In so doing, these winners demonstrated they are motivated to succeed and eager for learning opportunities beyond the classroom.

For many of the students, the trip was their first peek inside the state Capitol, and their first look at state government in action. After several legislators joined our group for breakfast, students watched from the gallery as members of the House of Representatives conducted the state’s business.

Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck and Sen. Tommy Robertson of Moss Point, who serves on the Public Utilities committee, took time out from very busy schedules to meet with the students, give them an overview of pending legislation and answer their questions.

The students’ opportunities for personal visits with leaders in state government, including their own legislators, has always been a highlight of our leadership program. Year after year, our young group is welcomed and treated respectfully at the Capitol by elected officials familiar with the quality of youth our program attracts. They realize those young faces represent the future of Mississippi, and they encourage the students to become involved politically—or at least become more informed on issues affecting their communities and state.

We hope the students learn that daily debates in the Mississippi Legislature are not abstract rambling but rather serious attempts to address important issues affecting their own lives. We want their eyes opened to the power of political action. And we want them to see it as the pathway to positive change and productive compromise on the state level.

Workshop activities included an afternoon of fun, team-building exercises designed to teach problem solving through working together. The students are divided into teams and assigned simple tasks that require a group effort to accomplish. There are no team “captains,” but invariably leaders emerge as the teams work to achieve their goals.

The workshop message was leadership, and I think the students got it. Let’s see how they use it.

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