Three Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students as well as a faculty and residential life staff member have been chosen to participate in the Clinton Presidential Center Student Presidential Leaders Series.
ASMSA students Joshua Stallings, Blake Smith and Danielle Luyet were chosen to participate in the program. They were joined by entrepreneurship instructor Steve Rice and residential experience coordinator Liz Carrel. Fifteen participants each statewide were chosen for the student and educator cohorts.
The series consists of five sessions that will help the participants build meaningful relationships across identity lines, challenge them to discover how their core values impact how they make a difference in their communities, participate in a special service-learning program in celebration of Global Youth Service Day and other activities. The series started in November and includes five sessions. The final session will be a workshop that serves as a culminating experience for the students and educators in which they explore an issue that is important to the next generation of leaders.
The modular educational series is designed to inspire the next generation through curriculum and activities rooted in social engagement, according to the program’s website. It offers an in-depth look at the process of presidential leadership, the importance of civic participation and the tactics of turning knowledge into action. Through the program, the Clinton Center aims to build capacity within future leaders and enhance the abilities of educators to support student development.
Luyet, a junior from Conway, said she decided to apply soon after hearing about the program and learning the opportunities it offered.
“I wanted to enhance and build my leadership skills and build connections with other students around the state,” she said. “I hope to gain a broader perspective on student life in Arkansas and insight on how we can contribute to improve our communities. I hope to develop my leadership skills and to create a network of student leaders around the state.
“I have always looked for opportunities to grow my skills as a leader and communicator, but this opportunity means more than just working on my individual skill set. It means reaching out to other students and educators in Arkansas and working together to make our communities more accepting and united.”
Stallings, a junior from Little Rock, said he was “excited and grateful” when he learned he had been chosen for the program because “there were many other students who I knew applied and were not selected.” Besides hoping to become an overall better leader, he said it was important to have the opportunity to gain the experience of working with various people from across the state.
“For me, it’s very important to have been selected for this program, especially since it only accepts 15 students! There aren’t many other programs like this in Arkansas, so I hope to learn and gain as much as I can from an experience like this,” Stalling said.
Smith, a junior from London, said he decided to apply for the program as he plans to work in the nonprofit field as a career in the future.
“I thought that this program would allow me to build connections with like-minded people from across the state,” Smith said. “I hope to learn more about building open and safe spaces for all people in any community I am ever a part of. I also hope to better understand politics and the concept of having to make decisions that disappoint/hurt the least amount of people.”
Rice said he is interested in student development, and this forum seemed like a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with students and educators from across the state on some of most important issues in the community.
“Empowering students to think about the challenges in their community and state and to hear the stories and lived experiences of others from a wide variety of backgrounds in invaluable,” Rice said. “The empowerment helps students experience these sometimes challenging issues with hope and optimism and builds belief in their capacity to mold their lives and communities into a more just, equitable and happy society.”
Carrel said the program will also teach an important leadership skill — process facilitation. It involves focusing on finding the root cause of a problem efficiently and quickly to ensure the issue is resolved effectively, she said.
“Learning to be a process facilitator allows leaders to use analytical processes to find the facts, deal with opinions and assumptions, and find the underlying causes of a problem so it can be resolved smoothly, quickly and effectively,” she said.
Carrel said it is important for educators to have this kind of opportunity because it helps them grow as leaders as well.
“One of the hardest skills to learn as a leader is to work hard on yourself. It’s impossible to lead someone else if you don’t lead yourself in the right direction. You need to work on yourself by becoming a good example to others,” she said.
The sessions are being conducted online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rice said he left the first session in November encouraged by what he saw and heard.
“As a teacher, I left the weekend inspired by the level of critical thinking, empathy and creativity that these students possess,” he said. “It was enriching to work with students in a truly collaborative environment and have the time to really hear the concerns and challenges they have but also the opportunities they envision for themselves and our state.”
Stallings said that first session left him excited about the rest of the series.
“The first session was very interactive and lively while also staying educational,” Stallings said. “It made me excited to see what the rest of the program had to offer and to interact with all the wonderful people who were also selected for the series.”
For more information on the series, visit https://asmsa.me/clintoncenterseries.