HSLP 08 Day 13, Thursday July 24

High School Leaders Program Class of 2008
Day 13, Thursday, July 24
Reported by: Caitlin Saloka and Christina Solebello

     Today we woke up early, again, for our LAST DAY OF CLASS!!   I have to admit, we were all excited, yet in the back of everyone’s mind was the knowledge that we were one day closer to graduation—and not getting to see our newly made friends daily. While that was sad, we all vowed to keep in touch and not wait for our official alumni reunion to see each other.  We had one speaker before lunch, a professor at UVA, who presented a slideshow to us about globalization. I thought the presentation was extraordinarily eye-opening and shocking because of the length of the problem, and how it is still ongoing.  
     Around 10:30, we all left to go to the Miller Center, where we met with former Governor Balilies, which was interesting because we learned about the presidents' secret recordings and listened to a few.  At noon, we were off to lunch, and spent our day, until around 3pm in class with another two speakers.  Both were extremely good, and energetic, and as always, more than willing to answer all of our eager questions.  This is one of the countless reasons as to why Sorensen is so wonderful; every speaker honestly wants to be there and treats us like we matter—like we truly are the future.  If every adult approached kids with that attitude, I believe that people would feel more involved and important and like they could make a difference.  
     Then, we got out of class early, because it usually ends at 5, and so part of my group, along with myself, went to Downtown Charlottesville to buy posters and markers from CVS for our Culminating Project.  We came home, or I suppose, back to Bice House, and began our project.  We worked until around 10 at night, and then did a practice presentation in front of our three program managers and Marc Johnson.  They critiqued us, and that allowed us to be able to go back and review and fix our mistakes.  The presentation is tomorrow morning, in the Rotunda, which should be exciting!   That will be our last full day—sad and exciting at the same time!  I can’t wait!
— Caitlin Saloka of Forest, Jefferson Forest High School Class of 2009

     Today was just a great day for Sorensen. Our final days are coming to a close and we ambled to class, almost late. Emily, who had been out due to illness, saw us as she passed by and yelled that she was back! Our first speaker was Hal Burbach who presented a beautiful presentation, showing us the world at night. The presentation also had two videos. One about a girl who stood up before the UN in 1992 protesting the way the climate. The second was called 2 Million Minutes; it compared six students, two from USA, two from India, and two from China. The video documented their work ethics and the drastic change between their studying habits.
     Afterwards we took the bus to the Miller center where we had a few guest speakers including former Virginia Governor Baliles. They showed us around their website and gave us the basic ideas of how their operation works. Then we had lunch with Bob Gibson. He described his life in writing journalism for politics and then opened the room for questions. Afterwards we had representatives from Virginia21 inspire us to get active in college!
     It was a great day for Sorensen. We got out early and started working on our projects, and had mock presentations.
— Christina Solebello of Louisa, Louisa County High School Class of 2009