Taking on leadership roles

The Youth Leadership Club (YLC) is a strong force within Hewlett High School. This group includes students that could be considered role models based on their community involvement and commendable character.

YLC’s bimonthly meetings, called Youth Leadership Forum allow students to engage with their peers and faculty members. Dr. David Rifkind and Rose Panarelli serve as the forum’s advisors of YLF; however, the forum is mainly directed by its student leaders, including senior Presidents Sophia Kislik and Chenab Khakh, and senior Vice President Reiner Scherzinger, Treasurer Sydney Isseks and fellow sophomore Secretary Natalie Geltman. In order to recruit students, YLC hosted a successful Freshman Focus seminar on Dec. 17.

The most recent leadership forum occurred on Feb. 26, perfect timing to plan for YLC’s busy time of the year. After a nutritious breakfast, attendees split into groups, aiming to be diverse in age and gender.

To warm up, groups performed a team building exercise, calling on their communication and critical thinking skills. Once ready, students finally worked in committees to plan various YLC endeavors. While some are traditional, there are also new ideas and committees.

In order to ensure that the Community Garden Learning Center is at its peak during the summer, YLC begins to prepare the garden early. Working alongside the Environmental Club, Bob Sympson of the Cornell Cooperative, and other volunteers from the community and students are excited to maintain and enhance the garden this season. Learning center committee members also discussed restarting the garden’s newsletter with constant updates.

Even though the annual Arts Below Sunrise street fair is at the start of next school year, planning has already begun. Each year, the leadership forum aims to expand the popular community event; progress is underway already for 2016. Science Department Chair Dr. Brian Terry is working to create a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) Fair within Arts Below Sunrise. Students, from robotics club members to talented artists, are eager to see this idea come to life.

Arts Below Sunrise and the garden learning center both started out as just an idea, and evolved into impressive activities. The leadership forum may change over time, but it has stayed a unique place to foster student’s innovative ideas into action. With effort from each member of the Youth Leadership Club and other volunteers, YLC has proven that it is capable of forming traditions that strengthen the Hewlett-Woodmere community.