Pictured here are Urbana High School Student Leadership representatives (from left): Bre Eggleston, Riley DeMoss, Bryce Stambaugh, and Stella Johnson.
Submitted photo
By Julie Willoughby
Four students from Urbana High School, Riley DeMoss, Bre Eggleston, Stella Johnson and Bryce Stambaugh, are representing the district in the Student Leadership Champaign County group.
Other participating schools include Triad, Graham, Mechanicsburg, West Liberty Salem, and Ohio Hi-Point Career Center. This group of students meets seven times this year and participates in leadership development activities.
On Oct. 10, Agriculture Day, students started the day with a lesson on effective civic leadership.
The guest speaker on civic leadership was Martin Leistner, Deputy Clerk at Urbana’s Municipal Court. Leistner also serves as a City Councilman in Covington, Ohio.
Leistner led students to experience what it is like to be a city council member and how to resolve conflict when resources are limited. Each student was assigned a department to represent, including education, parks and recreation, public safety, and transportation. Students were given a list of fiscal needs from their department.
As a council, students debated and determined the end budget for their city. Students recognized and discussed their conflict strategies to determine a final decision, including listing pros and cons, determining needs for the community’s future, and laying aside personal bias for the good of all.
The leadership skills that the students refined were knowing when to take charge, effective verbal communication, the ability to compromise, and the importance of hearing the voices of all group members. The curriculum used was Junior Achievement’s High School Heroes.
Following the Effective Civic Leadership experience, Augie Martinez, the Graduate Success Coordinator for Champaign County, led students on visits to various agriculture-based businesses in the county, including Freshwater Farms of Ohio, Woodruff Farm, and Koenig Equipment.
During the Freshwater Farms of Ohio visit, students toured the farm. They heard about how wastewater is turned into fertilizer, the management of sustainably grown trout from egg to full-grown fish, and how coy fish are rescued on the property. Students also got some hands-on experiences with salamanders, toads, turtles, sturgeons, and even goats.
The Student Leadership Champaign County group is a product of the county’s Career Education program, led by Christina Flowers, the Business and school Liaison for Champaign County.
Julie Willoughby, Ph.D. is Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Urbana City Schools.
