HIGH POINT, N.C., June 20, 2017 – The High Point Police Department and High Point University kicked off a special Youth Leadership Academy on June 19 for local teens in the community.
This is the fourth year HPU and HPPD have partnered to host the 10-day program, which focuses on developing the teens’ leadership skills and introducing them to avenues for community service. The academy continues each weekday through June 30. The day begins at HPU, then students complete activities throughout the Triad.
“Every moment they are doing something that impresses us,” says Petula Sellars, lieutenant for the HPPD. “Our goal is for them to continue to grow, bond with each other and realize the importance of volunteering and giving back to their community.”
The students’ days are filled with meeting and learning from community leaders, completing leadership-building and team-building activities, and completing community service projects. On Monday, they traveled to Brookdale, an assisted living community in High Point, where they dedicated time with residents.
“We sang songs with them, talked to them and they talked to us about what they’ve been through in life,” said Amari Eaton, a sophomore from T. Wingate Andrews High School. “They told us how to move through different stages of our lives.”
“This is the university I want to go to, so I was automatically interested in this program and everything fell into place,” Eaton added. “This is a big opportunity for all of us. So far, even on day one, this academy has been very educational, and we’ve been introduced to a lot of great people.”
Sellars said that she and her colleagues want to prepare these youth to be future leaders who are always looking for ways to improve their communities.
“These students have all agreed to go back to Brookdale with our unit at Christmas to further bless the residents with Christmas cheer,” Sellars said. “That’s what we want them to keep doing after this academy.”