Nine students from Bow Valley High School will be sharpening their leadership skills at the annual Canadian Student Leadership Conference (CSLC) happening this year in Kelowna, B.C.
The conference runs from Sept. 23 - 27 and invites student leaders from all over the country to be a part of a unique leadership experience.
Dorothy Karlson is an English and leadership teacher at Bow Valley and has been going to the conference for around 26 years.
“They will learn that they can make a difference and they hear first hand the impact that leadership can have on a building. I think that is pretty unique,” she said. “When students go to their own high school they may think that is just something that happens in their building. It is really neat for them to understand that there are some pretty neat schools across Canada.”
Students will have the opportunity to listen to a number of keynote speakers, attend various workshops and hear from other schools and students about their leadership efforts.
According to the CSLC website, these activities are designed to develop their leadership skills, build confidence, and discover new ideas to help them make a difference in their own schools and communities.
Karlson believed that students would be able to improve on skills that will help them as an individual such as their confidence, public speaking and ability to interact.
But she also added that they would be able to network with other student leaders – around 800 kids from all over Canada.
“There are always sessions when they network with all of these kids from across Canada,” Karlson said. “They get ideas and it’s amazing. They come back with a myriad of ideas or they are able to share what we are doing here and they are feeling pretty good about it. It’s two fold.”
The CSLC website also mentioned that students can participate in spirit groups, cultural moments, community outreach, a tradeshow, and other special events. There are also opportunities for student advisors to attend their own professional development workshops.
For more information on the conference visit cslc2014.ca.
