High School Leaders Program 2007: Day 1

High School Leaders Program Class of 2007
Blog Update: Day 1, Saturday July 7
Reported by: Nicholas Deaton, Henrico High School and Elaine Singerman, Oakton High School

 

    Today we arrived at the University of Virginia for the High School Leaders Program. After getting everything into our rooms and getting settled in we went down to meet the staff and walked to the Alderman Library to take a survey of our political involvement.
    We then did a short orientation in the conference room downstairs and learned everyone’s name through a “bingo-game.” After meeting everyone and learning a bit about them we ate dinner. During this time we were asked to sit with someone we had not met previously in order to meet new people. We were given a break after dinner and then we went on a photo scavenger hunt to learn more about the UVa campus. A few natives of Charlottesville knew their way around well and the rest of us learned much about the campus and how to get to the basics, such as Starbucks and our classrooms.
    Tonight we talked a lot more amongst ourselves and hung out quite a bit more. We watched a movie, played cards, and chilled for a few hours. We went to bed late after our first day at Sorenson, already tired from the long day.
--Nick Deaton, Henrico High School

    Today the High School Leaders Program began: 30 high schoolers from all around the state assembled at UVA’s Bice Hall apartments.  We all have a few things in common; we’re dedicated to public service and have academic interest in finding solutions to Virginia’s problems.
    I think that the program leaders set a strong foundation for achieving that goal today.  The most tangible step in that direction was an orientation exercise led by Martin Mash.  He set a huge pad of paper on an easel and under four headings (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, and Green) we listed adjectives that come to mind to describe members of four different political parties.  If the aim was to show us our partisan prejudices, I hope it succeeded, because by the end the sheets were almost completely negative and perfect evidence of the reason it’s so difficult to make progress in politics.
    With any luck, two weeks from today we’ll be able to look back on that first exercise and see ourselves as more capable political thinkers without partisan name-calling holding us back.
--Lanie Singerman, Oakton High School