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MCC’s Future Educators Empower Today’s Youths to Become Tomorrow’s Leaders


The day began with a word game to challenge the minds of about 300 eager middle and high school students at Monroe Community College. Students were divided into small groups, each at tables with color markers and poster boards, in a large room. The rules of the game: come up with as many words that describe the leadership quality assigned to their team.

Within a half-hour, more than a dozen posters showcasing their creativity decorated the walls. The icebreaker activity set the tone for the fall 2016 Leadership Conference, led by MCC education majors, designed to teach youths the skills needed to become effective leaders in school, in the community and in their future professions.

Organized by MCC student members of the Future Educators Club, the half-day conference brought together students in grades 7-12 from 14 middle and high schools across Monroe County. They attended workshops on leadership styles and teamwork, the power of listening within the medical field, motivational skills of a successful supervisor, the importance of situational awareness, and grassroots engagement in the community.

Representatives from various area employers—including YMCA, a hospital and a law firm—led nine workshops at the conference. Topics included “Leadership, Teamwork and Perseverance,” “Step Up and Be Noticed,” “Understanding Your Surroundings” and “Say What? How Effective Listening Can Help You Be Heard as a Leader.”

Many of the younger students were seeking or already holding leadership positions in school clubs or student councils or participating in leadership programs.

Interactive activities interspersed with dialogues enabled students to demonstrate their teamwork and team-building skills. “It was a way to bridge a gap and get people to work together in groups with people they didn’t know toward one goal,” said Andre Medlock, vice president of MCC’s Future Educators Club. “They may not know it, but they were building relationships and networking with students from different high schools.”

Event organizers said it was important to hold the conference on campus and provide walking tours, led by MCC students, as part of the event so that youths can have a taste of college life and visualize themselves in college.

“Students got the experience of seeing the campus—lecture rooms, dining area and different cultures” represented at MCC, Medlock said.

The conference also offered opportunities for MCC education students to hone their teaching skills in a classroom setting through their interactions with youths and seasoned K-12 teachers.

“At one of the workshops, I explained to one student in particular that you have to have confidence when you speak and when you’re dealing with people. I explained that the role of a leader is to empower every person around them,” said Medlock, a Rochester native who aspires to become a high school English teacher.

The boy later approached Medlock to thank him for his advice. “When the student remembers your name and the lesson that was taught—whether that was five minutes or 45 minutes—it lets you know that kids do listen,” said Medlock. “If I had an effect on a student within that five-minute timeframe, I can only imagine that every student actually learned something” at the conference.

Hency Yuen-Eng
Marketing and Community Relations
12/19/2016


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