 |
| Camp Participants Monee Blair, Tiyana Carter and Volunteer Jade Banks |
Hampton University’s Fine and
Performing Arts Department hosted a three day Youth Empowerment Camp on its campus
June 26-28. Forty students, ages 12-18, participated in the program, which educated
students, primarily, on leadership skills.
The program also provided
students with workshops on teambuilding, as well as dance, visual arts, music
and sports.
Tiyana Carter, who attends
Bethel High School, said she enjoyed the exposure to various people in
leadership positions.
“I liked how we had different
people come in and show us the different types of leaders, youth leaders and
older leaders who go all around the world,” she said.
For the ending program,
students were part of a panel discussion that included Hampton Mayor Molly
Ward, Virginia House of Delegates Member Mamye E. BaCote, HU Men’s Associate
Head Basketball Coach Darryl Sharp, and Virginia State Senator Mamie Locke.
Locke is also Dean of the HU School of Liberal Arts.
Carter, 15, said it was a
chance for students to interact using skills they utilized during the program.
“That was our chance to show
what we learned. (Panelists) asked us real situational problems about everyday
life, like traffic and bullying, and we were able to explain what a leader can
do to improve the problems,” she said.
HU Chair of Fine and
Performing Arts, Dr. Karen Ward, served as one the program’s co-directors and
said, though brief, the camp offered students a wealth of information that will
help them throughout their lives.
“We, along with our sponsor, Dominion
Foundation, hope that the participants will utilize all that they learned from
the camp when they return to their schools and communities, so they can become stronger
and more able leaders,” she said. “We packed a great deal in a very short
period of time, with the hope that each day would be an opportunity for them to
engage in enjoyable and valuable experiences to help them grow to become better
leaders.”
By Leha Byrd
No comments:
Post a Comment