Volunteering, life skills part of new CMC Youth Leadership forum
By Mike McKibbin
BASALT – With their eyes shut and giggles coming out of their mouths, 10 Basalt High School students folded and tore the corners and edges of construction paper.
They followed instructions from Beth Shaw, Colorado Mountain College dean of business and industry and executive director of the college’s Customized Business Services, but no two pieces of paper appeared to be the same at the finish.
“Good leaders are always wonderful listeners,” Shaw said of the purpose of the exercise. “They all heard me tell them the same instructions, but no one asked me a question, so they all had something different.”
At a Youth Leadership workshop series this fall and winter, these students are learning how to become positive leaders. The weekly workshops started in September and run through Jan. 11 at Basalt High School.
Instructor Bennett Bramson said he hopes the workshop will help teach high schoolers “more than just the three Rs,” including skills like management, critical thinking and decision-making. “What I hope will be the key message is ‘We always do well for ourselves when we do good for others’.”
Dr. Rick Johnson, instructional chair at Colorado Mountain College’s Aspen Campus, said the decision to offer the workshop was partly due to the times in which we live.
“Some of the most critical learning has to do with personal habits and skills to help improve communities,” he said.
An important part of the workshop encourages students to volunteer for a community event, Bramson said. For example, students helped at a Halloween charity event in Aspen and the recent Aspen Ski Swap. Bramson and some students also helped out for three days at this fall’s Snowmass Balloon Festival.
“I hope they’ll find out they want to volunteer because they love it and want the world to be a better place for themselves, their kids and their grandkids,” Bramson added.
Students connect, grow, think critically
Kate Lumsden, a senior, said she decided to enroll in the workshop to make a difference.
“We helped out at the (Snowmass) Balloon Festival,” she said. “It’s a good way to connect with people.”
Fellow senior Mario Orellana said he hopes to learn how to be a better leader after he graduates, when he wants to become an executive chef or work in the computer industry.
“This class has helped open my mind and made me think outside the box,” Orellana said. “That’s something I can use no matter which way I go.”
Sophomore Kiyoshi Nakagawa, who also wants to be an executive chef, said the workshop helped teach him how to make good business decisions.
“I learned to be flexible, like when an employee has a problem or concern,” he said.
Workshop to return, possibly expand
Classes feature guest speakers, discussion, books and role-playing. Johnson said the workshop would return this spring in Basalt, and hopes it will eventually expand to Aspen and other valley communities.
Bramson said the workshop could help develop future public leaders.
“For instance, we’ve talked politics, but it’s not the kind of politics you normally think of,” he said. “It’s about our political system and how to become public servants.”
Initial feedback has been positive. After a classroom exercise where students decided who should survive in a lifeboat, Bramson said a parent called him to say they did not have a chance to do that type of critical thinking until college. He also offers a personal money-back guarantee to any student who actively participates, successfully completes assignments and does not miss more than two classes, but is dissatisfied with the program. To date, students have been using words such as, “inspiring,” “thought-provoking” and “really cool” to describe the classes, he said.
“I hope they gain some insights and realize that you never stop learning, there’s always room for personal growth,” Bramson said.