HSLP 2010: Day 3, Monday, July 12

High School Leaders Program Class of 2010
Day 3-Monday, July 12
Recorded by: Alexis Davis, Chester

The first day of class at Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia was a mix of events. We all rushed to get dressed in the morning hoping we are not the last ones to meet in the lobby, and be looked down upon by our peers for tardiness. We start our walk to the classroom under a cloudy sky which shows signs of future showers; the walk is long and tiring for the female species due to the wearing heels. We arrive and the High School Leaders Program Class of 2010 officially begins.

April Auger begins the class with an extremely student involved lesson of Media 101. April informs the class that good media abides by two rules: 1. Think what your message is for your group and 2. Nothing is ever off the record. The class also engages in a task of listing five positive and five negative aspects of where each of us resides in Virginia. I found it very interesting to hear what my adolescent peers wanted from their local governments.

Barbra Kessler, a resume expert, is introduced to the class and we are told to turn in our resumes which will be proof read and corrected with the infamous red pen. She informs the class on how to improve our resumes in a more mature and professional way emphasizing detail in our extracurricular activities. Many raise their hand in questions due to their prior experiences with resumes. She smiles and exits the door, leaving the class to lunch. Lunch consists of tasteful bagel sandwiches and a simple yet delicious salad of tomatoes, romaine lettuce, almonds, and unique vinaigrette. Lunch concludes and it is back to the classroom.

Mark Johnson is our instructor for the remainder of the week. He starts off with a lesson in ethics: What it is and what does it means to be ethical? We divide into groups and discuss what components make up an ethical leader and there is much debate in the room. Ultimately, we decide a leader should be honest, fair, respectful, and virtuous. Next, we move on to ethical dilemma scenarios. An ethical dilemma is right verses right, both actions should past the test. Tricky? Yes! Did arguments arise? Yes! Did we come to a final conclusion? No! However, I personally love hearing the opinions and viewpoints of others. The most fascinating learning experience for me was toward the end of class. We learned the profile of each region of Virginia, including: population, income, economy, etc. In public school we learn about the demographics of the nation as a whole. In Sorensen we learn about issues that specifically relate to us and how we can make Virginia a better place for all of it's residents. The day concluded with a presentation from a reading group and we were released from class to humid rainy weather.

Dinner was delicious. It was a buffet of rice, hummus, pita bread, tomato and cumber salad, veggie kabobs, or meat kabobs, a middle eastern theme. We all retreated to our rooms to listen to music, text, get on facebook, or (cough) do our homework. Then our YPC Lauren took us to a frozen yogurt bar called Arch's, I had vanilla frozen yogurt with gooey brownie and banana; healthy, minus the brownie. We then retreated to Bice House to work on our homework and any other assigned assignments due tomorrow.

This experience is amazing; the people are all accepting and extremely mature for their ages, the teachers are fun and interactive, and our YPCs are always there to help us have a good time. Sorensen is awesome and I recommend it to anyone who wants to peruse a career in politics or to experience college life: it's a rush!

High School Leaders Program Class of 2010
Day 3-Monday, July 12
Recorded by: Mac Dobbins, Danville

Today was a pleasant first day of class. Although I was 3 minutes late to meet for class, I managed to still get downstairs before everyone left.

After discussing local issues in Virginia with Ms. Auger, we took a break and prepared for our speaker, Barbara Kessler. She explained to us the ins and outs of resumes as well as reference lists. After our speaker we had a great lunch from Bodo's Bagels. Our first class with Mr. Johnson followed, and we learned about ethics in Virginia politics while defining what it takes to be ethical. After our discussion on ethics, we talked about the reading from the previous night and a group presented and offered insight.

Once class was finished, we came back to Bice and were served dinner from Sticks Kabob Shop, which was almost as good as the Bodo's. Following dinner we went to the corner and picked up a few things at CVS and had food at the White Spot, which also competed with the day's other meals. Then we came back to Bice and did our homework in groups, concluding a long first day. The day was exciting, as we were all anxious to start our Sorensen experience, but we are all ready to get in the swing of things.