HSLP 2009: Day 3, July 13

High School Leaders Program
Day 3— Monday July 13, 2009
Reported by Whitney Hosey of Riverbend High School, Fredericksburg, VA
 
            Arriving downstairs bright and early at 8:30 a.m., the members of the High School Leaders Program followed diligently behind Andrew as we made our way to the first day of class. Clad in business professional in the midst of a humid morning in Charlottesville, we trudged our way up the hill from Bice Hall toward Thornton Hall where we were to meet Mr. Marc Johnson for our first lesson: ethics in politics. After a brief PowerPoint, the discussion began. Now, ethics is something we certainly do not all agree on; however, we all made sure to keep our comments intelligent and cordial, which I must say is not always how our older counterparts on Capitol Hill behave. After our group discussions about how ethics affects lawmaking, how to solve ethical dilemmas, and how to make the right decision in an ethical dilemma, our second guest speaker, Mrs. Barbara Kessler arrived to give us a resume workshop. While with us, she discussed what to include in a resume as well as a suggested format that impresses not only colleges, but possible employers as well. Mrs. Kessler provided us with some great tips to make sure our resume impresses anyone who sees it as well as covers any necessary and pertinent information they may need. Upon Mrs. Kessler’s departure, we broke for our working lunch. While enjoying our time outdoors, we discussed local issues with others from our area; Natalie Cruise and I were responsible for Fredericksburg. Upon our return April Auger had joined our group and decided to get involved in our discussions by writing each of our topics on the board. We had been responsible for identifying problems in our areas, strengths, and weaknesses, and one overall statewide problem that should be fixed. While doing this we began to discover something, all of our problems were different, and so when the question was posed which problem was the most important, we had to consider something: all of our areas had different problems, but which one was the most important to everyone. This is the problem law makers face everyday. After a bit of a heated debate and some compromise we all decided education was our main concern, so the discussion went off from there. After our power lunch, Mr. Johnson had another presentation to show us about Virginia as a whole, its people, economy, geography, and fun facts. Our discussion moved into the next section of class. Here Emma, Trevor, and Maria presented their discussion about The Washington Post articles written by Mr. David Finkle, and Mr. David Von Drehle. The articles, written in 2004, compared two extremist families from both the Democratic Party, and the Republican Party. Overall, we decided that the authors of the articles wanted to show America how silly the stereotypes we use to describe political parties. We also discussed how Virginia’s political culture was changing from a Republican Southern State to possibly being a bit more to the left in years to come. The majority of us agreed, once a Red always a red. Only time will tell how Virginia’s vote will swing. Our final activity of the day was guest speaker Delegate Chris Saxman, a Republican. Mr. Saxman gave us a brief overview of his political experience, and Virginia legislature as a whole, and then we were able to ask our own questions for the remainder of the hour.
            My favorite part of the day was definitely Mr. Saxman’s question-and-answer session. I believe he was very respectful and helpful when answering our questions, and he did not treat us like children and give dishonest or childish answers. He also was kind enough to share personal information, and stayed behind for a bit to discuss any further questions we may have had. Personally, I think that the program will only get better as the time goes on. I can only say that I am honored and blessed to be with such a fine group of young adults.

—Whitney Hosey of Riverbend High School, Fredericksburg, VA