Dr. Marilyn Hadley
More than 200 area elementary school students and their sponsors, representing 13 Nebraska communities, attended Building on Strengths, a youth leadership conference, held on the campus.
The conference opened with a speaker on leadership and small group discussions about the students’ own leadership skills. Students then visited four of seven learning stations, which included a planetarium show and presentations on making the student newspaper, producing a play, using Smartboard technology, creating ceramic art, team building, understanding auditory/visual localization and experiencing a simulated airplane flight.
“The conference focused on helping students recognize the leadership capacities they possess and offered them an opportunity to learn about new things that may motivate them to continue their education after graduating from high school,” said Dr. Marilyn Hadley, dean of the UNK College of Education, adding that, “The emphasis was on encouraging students to think broadly about their future options, not on recruiting them to UNK.” The conference was sponsored jointly by Region 4 elementary principals and the University.
Students, grades 4-6, attended from the following communities: Centura, Chapman, Doniphan, Franklin, Gibbon, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Lexington, Ravenna, Shelton, St. Paul and Wood River.
