2021 Summer Workshop Recap
This year’s program, Everyday Leadership in Action, was designed for online delivery. Two 5-day programs were offered, June 20-24 and June 27-July 1. Sunday’s schedule included introductory sessions and ran from 1:30-5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday provided full days – 10:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. - packed with opportunities to learn, interact with staff and peers, gain some inspiration, and reflect on each day’s concepts through an afternoon synthesis session and the daily closing. Each day had its own theme: Commitment (Sunday), Self-Awareness (Monday), Understanding Others (Tuesday), I’ve Got Skills (Wednesday), and Lead the Way (Thursday).
Delegates were assigned to 3 different groups that met either once or twice daily. The CORE GROUP was a small group that focused on building and sharpening leadership skills, attitudes and behaviors. Sessions were built loosely around the concepts presented in the book, Everyday Leadership: Attitudes and Actions for Respect and Success by Mariam G. MacGregor, M.S. All delegates received a copy of the book to use as a reference during and after the workshop. Moving forward, the term CORE GROUP will replace what was previously called a council.
Participants were also assigned to a Discussion Group. Staff members were provided with a large library of discussion prompts to use throughout the week, all of which were taken from a supplemental resource to the Everyday Leadership book. Topics included:
Qualities of Leadership – characteristics and expectations of leaders and leadership
Working with Others – what it takes to successfully work with others, from teambuilding to delegating
Self-Awareness – personal values, talents, and what makes each person uniquely capable of handling different situations
Power Play – the role and impact of power and influence as they relate to leadership
Creative Thinking & Risk Taking – ways to try new things or new approaches
Social Issues – contemporary issues that leaders may encounter and ways to make positive change in large and small ways
Communication – what it takes to be a strong communicator, from active listening to successfully expressing an opinion
Doing the Right Thing – ethics, role modeling, and integrity, while strengthening decision-making skills
Leadership through Time – how perspectives on leaders and leadership have changed over time and ways leaders leave their mark in history
A unique feature of these small groups was the inclusion of delegates from both program levels, iB Level I (formerly known as Senior High I) and iB Level 2 (formerly known as Senior High II). As indicated by the feedback from both delegates and staff, this was a very popular part of each day and it will be implemented into the existing summer workshop program.
The final group assignments were the aforementioned iB Level 1 and iB Level 2. Level 1 was comprised of all delegates who had not participated in an on-site iBELIEVE summer program, while the Level 2 group included those who attended one of iBELIEVE’s 2019 summer workshops. This distinction is important as we work to recruit and develop a new cohort of volunteer staff members in anticipation of our return to on-site workshops in summer 2022. The Levels groups met twice each day and were built around the Habitudes series of books by Dr. Tim Elmore. Level 1 delegates used Habitudes: The ART of Self-Leadership and Level 2 delegates used Habitudes: The Art of Connecting with Others. Again, all delegates received their own copy of the book. Each book uses images to teach leadership concepts and values. In addition to exploring the images included in the book, all delegates were encouraged to create their own book of images using the platform, Canva. The published books will be sent to delegates as part of a follow-up package.
In addition to the group sessions, each day included a Morning General Session to get everyone energized, engaged, and entertained. Walt’s Wisdom followed the lunch break and highlighted Walt Disney’s Mastering The Four C’s from the book The Wisdom of Walt: Leadership Lessons from the Happiest Place on Earth by Jeffrey A. Barnes. Walt Disney said, “Somehow I can’t believe there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secret of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four Cs: Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy and the greatest of these is confidence.” Each day’s mini-session dug into each of the 4 C’s. Every afternoon included a Synthesis Session to aid delegates in processing the information explored throughout the day. This is another new program piece that we will implement moving forward. Finally, as is always the case, each day ended with a closing. These sessions focused on the daily theme and utilized quotes, videos, story books, and music to reinforce concepts through a social-emotional learning lens.
The “digital divide” is something that can disproportionally affect Appalachian families when it comes to both access to technology and reliable internet. In order to address a need that goes beyond leadership development and our workshops, iBELIEVE was able to use a portion of our budget to provide every student that took part in our online program with a laptop computer that would be theirs to keep.
A final highlight to share was the delivery of supplies. Barnesville High School, Zanesville High School, Marietta College, and Jackson High School served as pick-up sites for those who were able to get there. The remainder of the supplies were mailed directly to student’s homes.
We’d also like to recognize our staff team who contribute their time and passion to bring the program to life for our delegates.
Week 1
Michelle Prinzo - Co-Director
Sarah Abdella
Ren Butler
Erica Collins
Cole Dickson
Kelly Gallagher
Madison Gillotte
Em Marlow
Mason Myers
Week 2
Christi Greathouse - Co-Director
Ren Butler
Erica Collins
Kelly Gallagher
Madison Gillotte
Raegan Hall
Katie Johnson
