I’ve had the opportunity to facilitate workshops with three student leadership groups over the past month. Check out Student Leadership – How are You Leading Today? to read more about the programs we facilitate and recommendations for student leaders. 

Today, I’m reflecting on three things I’ve learned working with these amazing students.

1. They are grateful for the opportunity to learn from others. One leadership class took time to write personalized thank you notes after I met with them. They were all grateful for different things, but the common theme was gratitude in general. Here is one of my favorite notes:
2. Students “don’t know what they don’t know”. I love that they felt comfortable asking questions about careers, college, and anything else they thought I might could help them with. With a total of 75 or so students in three groups, diversity in background and experience was evident. Not all students had a clear path planned for high school and beyond. Some had mentors and direction while others didn’t necessarily have that. At HPC, we do our best to help them along, with next steps in college, career, and community connection. I hope our time together helped them with their unknowns.
3. They remember what we talked about. I did trivia with one leadership group. We spent a morning packed full of information about employment. Then, I divided them into groups and challenged them by asking questions about what they’ve learned. I’m always amazed at how much they retain. I’m excited to see these kiddos join our future workforce!

Do you know any student leaders? If so, take time to talk to them. You will be surprised at what you might learn!