New London MPOWER students travel to Des Moines to meet State legislators

As part of the Southeast Iowa Youth Leadership Academy, SCC offers a college-level class in leadership. This class, MPOWER U, offers high school juniors and seniors opportunities to experience leadership in action. Students learn the skills and traits needed to become a good leader. The class consists of two students from each participating high school in Des Moines, Henry, Lee and Louisa counties. Students are selected by their school faculty and guidance counselors.

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Shaylee Brothersen and Gaven Menke-Bailey are the NLHS representative attending this class. Each MPOWER class meets with the Iowa Legislators. This year, as part of the Southeast Iowa Days coalition, they traveled to Des Moines. Many parents traveled with the group and were able to see their students in action as they practiced their new skills.

The trip also includes visits to the refurbished State Historical Museum, important sites to learn about Iowa history and governance and governmental leaders. As the year progresses they will travel to more communities, businesses, and organizations. A major goal is to learn the needs of the region. As they return to NLHS, they will bring with them skills to use to benefit our high school and community.

When the course is complete, they will have earned three SCC college credits. The course is developed by Phi Theta Kappa, International Honor Society for two year colleges. The operating assumptions are that every individual has leadership potential, leadership can be taught, and personal leadership philosophy is a prerequisite to learning and applying leadership skills. Using this class to discover networking skills to use with seniors and juniors from nearby high schools, they will build skills needed for the rest of their life. The instructors of the course are recognized and certified by Phi Theta Kappa to teach the curriculum.