HSLP 08 Day 3, Monday July 14

High School Leaders Program Class of 2008
Day 3, Monday, July 14
Reported by:  John Barber and Joi Crenshaw

     This morning as my classmates and I walked to class, we did so in anticipation. All of us were eager to meet our speaker. As we entered the room, Mr. McGuire, the first speaker of the day, greeted us. During our three-hour time period together we analyzed and discussed a powerpoint presentation. The powerpoint broke down statistics about various regions across Virginia. Once some of my classmates got more in-depth into the discussion, they began to interact with Mr. McGuire as well as those around them. After our discussion concluded, it was time for lunch. When lunch was over we were broken off into groups separated by the regions in which we live. In those sub-groups conversations arose about the pros and cons of each of our various regions. It was discovered that each region had different pros and cons. Later on this afternoon Chris Saxman joined us. He was quite entertaining, very open, and obviously secure in his beliefs. Before I knew it, the day was finished. It was truly a great beginning, and only a taste of what is to come.
—Joi Crenshaw of J.R. Tucker High School

     So, it’s day three, and also our first day of classes, which is pretty exhilarating if I say so myself.  We started classes off with “The Informed Citizen” instructed by Mr. Matt McGuire.  It was really interesting to talk about the divide of our country according to party affiliation, and Mr. McGuire’s insight on this matter was really informative and helped us to understand some of the information from the Washington Post articles. Next, we discussed a powerpoint showing the demographics, ethnicity, etc. of Virginia and the various regions of the state.  I was thoroughly interested in topics such as the problems of the regions, or where the income of the state comes from.  We next did an activity that would show us whether our region tended to lean left or right, and also if we had many swing vote attributes.
     After lunch, we began work on our Culminating Projects, it was very informative and all the while interesting to see the problems that the other regions had.  Some of them were very funny to hear, some were odd, and some made a lot of sense.  Though our regions have a lot of differences, there were some strengths and weaknesses that we all share.  It was a nice feeling to see that we all worried about the same things, even if we thought differently on some issues.  After that it was time to choose the one problem that affected the state the most. The diversity in the problems we saw for the state was a sign that we all are our own people, and don’t just worry about the same things.  Finally, before our next speaker came in, we voted on what we would want to work on the most.
     Delegate Chris Saxman came in to speak to us (see photo), and I found his lecture to be very good.  Delegate Saxman was open to us and treated us like we were adults, yet still had a sense of humor.  He was very good at answering questions, and made sure that everyone who had a question got an answer.  I thought when he answered that he elaborated on it so well that there wasn’t much need for a further answer, he got to the point basically.
     The last thing we did before we left the class was work on our introductions, which was helpful.  I enjoyed getting to learn more about everybody such as quirks, hobbies, and other things of the matter.  Tonight, we begin research on our Culminating Projects, and also begin the reading for tomorrow’s session of "The Informed Citizen."  I’m sure the future will have something exciting in wait for us.
—John Barber of Fluvanna County High School