Leadership has been a key component of Diane Glenn’s pre-nursing program this year after she incorporated the Lead4Change program created by former YUM Brands CEO David Novak.
The students, who are from Carroll, Gallatin, Owen and Henry counties served by the Carroll County Area Technology Center, worked together in groups and selected a project. Paws 4 Effect adopted three area animal shelters, Speak Up would provide backpacks of food and drinks to high school students in need, Blossom would educate young girls about menstrual cycles and puberty, and Giving Hope would collect and deliver items to homeless shelters in Carroll County.
The groups participated in a Shark Tank style event at the ATC, complete with a walk-in as if they were on the set of the Shark Tank television show.
“I can’t say how proud I am of everyone,” Glenn said at the close of the Shark Tank.
Paws 4 Effect
Aiden Markham, Erica McGuire, Joshua Pickett and Natalie Riley developed the concept of Paws 4 Effect. They produced weekly animal features on their Facebook page, collected items at each of their schools to donate to the shelters, packed a new pet owner backpack to be given to people who adopt animals and scheduled an adoption fair. The group also raffled a gift basket during the adoption fair to raise money to donate to the three shelters.
The adoption fair yielded three dogs who were adopted, including one by Aiden. “Our goal here is to get all of these dogs adopted,” Aden said. He noted he has always had a dog and they are terrific companions.
“We all love animals,” Erica said. “Not having a home is hard on them just like it is on humans. My dog has helped me through so much.”
The Carroll County Animal Shelter brought six dogs to the adoption event held recently at iLEAD Academy. Aiden is a student at iLEAD and Henry County is his home high school. Aiden has shown strong leadership skills during this project by reaching out to all three shelters and collaborating with them to support the dogs in need.
Speak Up
This group of Wynter Perry, Mylee Smith and Dana Crowley teamed up to provide backpacks with food and drinks for high school students. “There are a lot of kids who don’t want to speak up and say they need something,” Perry said.
The project will be launched in Gallatin County in conjunction with their Family Resources Youth Services Center. “I’ve noticed a lot of kids would rather come to a student,” Smith added.
Blossom
Entering puberty can be a trying time for a young lady so Yarley Gonzalez, Autumn Ward, Arlis Soto and Mazie-Rain Taylor created Blossom.
“We chose this mainly because we understand what it’s like to go through puberty and not have a lot of support,” Autumn said. The group said all their documentation and talking points are generated through Kids Health and The Cleveland Clinic.
Their future goal is to work with school nurses, particularly at Carroll County Middle School, to share peer support with young girls according to the Kentucky Department of Education regulations and guidelines which recently changed during their project.
Giving Hope
Giving hope to the homeless is the goal of Brooklynn Andrews, Calli Hoopengarner and Jenna Haynes. They are collecting hygiene items for the homeless shelter in Prestonville.
“All three of us have a passion for this,” Jenna said. “I want them to have hope there is a way out.”Callie added, “This is meaningful to me because I get to help people and I want to bless them.”
All of the student projects will be submitted to the Lead 4 Change contest by May 12th. If one of the projects wins, the group could be awarded up to $10,000,, which could support their pre-nursing program for further leadership projects or other charities chosen. They will be competing against other schools across the nation.
The Lead 4 Change curriculum included 12 weeks of project-based learning activities. Some of the lessons included creating a lifeline so students could plot ups and downs that have occurred in their lives which showed them even though you may experience a low point there is always a high point ahead, Glenn said. They learned the importance of teamwork and building trust, how to conduct research and create action plans, practiced public speaking and wrote letters to the community newspapers promoting their causes. They also created social media ads and implemented their projects, all of which took additional time after school.
“It has been amazing to see the students bond and come together to help improve their communities. This is important for our future generations to gain a better understanding of problem solving and helping others. The students enjoyed the projects so much and many plan to try to continue with their plans,” Glenn said.