An S.S. Seward Institute middle schooler has been selected to participate in Junior Leadership Orange this spring.
Lauren Scheuermann was one of 36 students chosen from around the county to participate in the youth empowerment program, which provides monthly educational sessions taught by local business, community, and government leaders. The Junior Leadership Orange program is a collaboration between the Orange County Youth Bureau and Leadership Orange. It is designed to provide leadership skills, life skills, career exposure, and preparedness to students identified as up-and-coming youth leaders.
Lauren and other eighth-graders from Orange County school districts will meet once a month during the school year to take part in presentations and training in several areas, including leadership, college readiness, the justice system, public speaking, volunteerism, diversity, and fiscal literacy. “I look forward to learning new skills, especially those in becoming a better leader, public speaker, and just becoming more confident in general,” Lauren said. “I also look forward to meeting other kids from other schools and working with them.”
Lauren said she heard about the program from Lindsay Rock, her guidance counselor, who thought she’d be a good candidate for the program. To be accepted, Lauren had to fill out an application and answer questions about goals, leadership, achievements, and helping the community. “I am so excited that I was one of the 36 students chosen out of 56 applicants in Orange County,” she said. “I am very much looking forward to this experience!
“I hope to get more of a sense of how to be a leader in the school, my community, and just within my own life in general,” Lauren added. “I hope to learn skills to help me succeed in my school life, eventually college life and community life.”
The support from Florida Union Free School District has been important in Lauren’s growth, she said.
“My teachers throughout Golden Hill and Seward, so far, have had a huge impact on me and have helped me become the student and leader I am today,” she said.
More about the Junior Leadership Orange program
The Junior Leadership Orange program is a nonprofit instructional program for eighth graders throughout Orange County. Students who wish to be considered for the program submit applications while they are in seventh grade; formal lessons begin during their eighth-grade year.
The program is a collaboration between the Orange County Youth Bureau and Leadership Orange. It is sponsored by contributions made by area businesses, organizations and individuals who wish to invest in youth and Orange County’s future.