LPS Honors Cadre students gain confidence at districtwide leadership conference

October 6, 2023

Sarah and Rilya have been pillars of their middle school communities with their superior work ethic, strong academic talents and friendly personalities.

They joined more than 200 of their fellow leaders Sept. 22 at the Honors Cadre Leadership Symposium.

Students in the Lincoln Public Schools Honors Cadre program gathered at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business for a full day of leadership activities. They represented Culler, Lefler, Dawes, Mickle, Goodrich, Schoo, Irving and Park middle schools on campus.

Eighth-grade students Sarah and Rilya both said they were happy to be at the symposium. Sarah attends Lefler Middle School and Rilya takes classes at Culler.

“We’re not at school, but we’re still getting to learn,” Sarah said. “It’s really nice to learn about leadership.”

“I like seeing new people and getting to meet everyone from all of the middle schools,” Rilya said. “We’re learning about what makes a good leader and how we can lead at our schools.”

Barbara Miller was thrilled to see all of the tables in the building’s atrium filled with top students. Miller is the LPS emerging educators empowerment specialist and has watched the Honors Cadre program flourish over the past decade. The program began nine years ago with a group of seven Lefler students. It has since grown to more than 200 students at eight middle schools.

“It is so amazing to see how this has taken off since it started,” Miller said. “It’s incredibly exciting to see this many students here, because they’re all part of a bigger picture. There’s a specialness to this because these are our future leaders.”

Many of the Honors Cadre students are also members of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program at LPS. AVID students develop skills such as leadership, critical thinking, time management and relationship building through a series of college-readiness elective classes. LPS staff members can nominate candidates in grades 6-12 for the program.

Students took part in an AVID tutor training class and two breakout sessions called “Leading With Purpose” and “Utilizing Your Strengths” at the symposium. They also listened to several motivational speeches and had lunch together on campus. All Honors Cadre students take the AVID elective class while they are in middle school.

UNL graduate Ra’Daniel Arvie gave students insight on several leadership topics during his keynote address in the early afternoon. He said he turned his life around after his freshman year of college after realizing the value of community service. He is now an academic outreach specialist for first-generation and upward-bound students at UNL.

“I’m all about helping people see in themselves what they might not see in themselves,” Arvie said. “It is always important to serve others. We were not placed here to live independently of one another. We are here to help other people.”

UNL seniors Bailey Robinson and Hannah Coldiron led the “Utilizing Your Strengths” seminar. Both are in the Clifton Strengths Institute at the UNL College of Business and have guided many of their peers. They told students that they all had the ability to help others with their gifts.

“We are all valuable,” Robinson said. “We all have our own strengths and talents.”

LPS Youth Development Coordinator Peter Ferguson encouraged students throughout his “Leading With Purpose” session. He spoke about making the most of every opportunity to lead, learn and grow every day.

“You only get two things each morning. You get a chance and you get a choice,” Ferguson said. “You get a chance to experience life and you get a choice on what you want to do with it. Those are two powerful things.”

Students could share what leadership meant to them during Ferguson’s class. They wrote sentences on notecards and spoke to their classmates both in one-on-one and large-group formats. They smiled with each other as they listened to the answers.

Miller beamed as she watched students work together in their activities. She felt the symposium was giving them valuable knowledge for their futures.

“I think all of these students are recognizing the responsibility and opportunities that come with being a leader,” Miller said. “It’s incredible to see what they’re learning today. They’re going to be able to take this back to their schools and help a lot of their classmates.”

Rilya said being selected for Honors Cadre classes had boosted her confidence. She said those feelings of being wanted and valued would help everyone continue to be pillars of their school communities.

“They saw in all of us that we can be leaders,” Rilya said. “That’s what I like about it.”

Check out highlights from the event below.

If you want to know more about the AVID program or nominate a student visit our website at https://home.lps.org/curriculum/avid/. 

Do you have a story idea? Share it with the LPS Communications Team by filling out this form!

---