Group Picks Students From Diverse Areas, Backgrounds for Hands-On Training
Joseph Boone, a junior at Anacostia High School in the District, and Natalie Wainger, a sophomore at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, do not travel in the same social circles.
Besides the physical distance between them, Boone's high school is predominantly black, as are his friends, and Wainger's school is predominantly white, as are her friends.
But through a program aimed at finding the leaders of tomorrow among the high school youths of today, the teenagers have become buddies. And that's part of what Youth Leadership Greater Washington is all about.
"I thought everyone else [in the program] would be different from me, but I found out they're actually a lot like me," said Boone, 16, captain of the drum line and an aspiring varsity football player. "I've made friends with a lot of them."
"My school is not that diverse," said Wainger, 16, a member of the Wootton pom squad. "I've never met anyone from Southeast [Washington] before. Joe and I talk a lot."
The Youth Leadership Greater Washington program, which runs from January to June, brings together a diverse "class" of 35 to 45 high school sophomores and juniors from across the Washington region each year. The program looks for teenagers who demonstrate leadership qualities -- at school, at home, at church or in any other arena.
"There are some very obvious leaders, remarkable, amazing kids who might be on everybody's radar screen," said Tim Kime, president and chief executive of Leadership Greater Washington, the adult group on which the youth group is modeled. "But then there are others who are not necessarily the student body president but a child from a single-family home who's taking care of younger siblings or one doing terrific things in their church, their neighborhood, their family or their school."
"We're looking for aspiring leaders who we can inspire and enlighten," said Kenneth Barrow, the program's coordinator. "We hope to foster community involvement and show them how they can contribute to the region."
For one day a month for six months, the group delves into one topic -- such as public safety, diversity or the media -- through field trips, interactive exercises and guest speakers.
