Prudence Julien in St Kitts Leadership Training 2008

BHS student to receive leadership training in St. Kitts

By Andrea Bryan (Secretary, BHSOSA)

Prudence Julien, Form 4 Arts student of The Bishops’ High School has been selected by senior staff members of the school to attend the Scotiabank-York University Emerging Global Leaders Program (EGLP) in St. Kitts from October 17th to 20th. Members of the Bishops’ High School Old Students’ Association (BHSOSA) in collaboration with its New York Tri-State, California and Toronto Chapters have covered the cost for the airline tickets and additional accommodation needed due to travel constraints out of Guyana. Julien will be chaperoned by former Headmistress of the school Mrs
Elizabeth Isaacs-Walcott.

The EGLP program which targets fourth/fifth form students from the Caribbean is sponsored by York University of Canada and Scotiabank. Initially Guyana was not included in the list of participating countries however, after correspondence with the Coordinator Craig Wright through past student Sarah Eylte and her daughter Tamaisha, Guyana (through The Bishops’ High School) was added.

The EGLP is designed as a co-curricular activity to outline the benefits and challenges of leadership in a global context and provides an opportunity for participants to integrate their academic study with their knowledge, skills and attitudes whilst putting this into practice among their peers and within their communities.

The EGLP prepares participants to think about leadership critically by exposing the participants to a variety of perspectives, theories and leadership related activities. This program is neither the beginning nor the end of the participants’ development, but is seen as one step in the life long learning process, providing value to both the participant and society as a whole.1
In 2010, there will be a follow-up program to assess the progress of these participants.

Background
Since 1999, the award-winning program has been offered every January to York students. The program is also offered to high-school students in Canada, and it was first offered to Caribbean students in 2004 in Barbados.

Scotiabank sponsored the Caribbean program for 2006. Its financial support enabled York to add more sessions to the program and host evening receptions in each country to give participants a chance to interact with business, community and education representatives. The EGLP sessions focus on goal-setting and other keys to success. They are led by professionals and experts from business, academia, government and the private sector.

My Experience in St. Kitts for the Leadership Program by Prudence Julien

he joys experienced on my trip to St Kitts can be described as simply exhilarating. Coupled with the excitement of visiting a new country and even being stuck in another, was the looming opportunity to bring to light the talent and intellect of The Bishops’ High School and more so, my country, Guyana.

Even though we arrived one day earlier, my chaperone and Headmistress, Mrs. Isaacs­-Walcott, did not skip a beat in keeping me fully enlightened on locations and sights around me so although my primary learning program had not begun, I was able to gain foreknowledge on what lay before me.

On the 1st day however, I was able to aid my mentors and facilitation team in setting the tables for other participants – which was a small but valuable lesson in leadership – that as leaders we pave the way for others and make them feel catered for in our atmosphere. With games referred to as “icebreakers” helping to release the tension in the air and helping us familiarize strangers and transform them into teammates and friends, the pace for the rest of the program was set. We were also given snacks and sweets in between speeches and our regular breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet style.

Also the basic goals of the program were highlighted which were (1) to equip us with all the skills necessary in order to be an effective leader by means of interaction and participation that called for crucial thinking and (2) allowing us the opportunity to display the leadership qualities we all need to possess and build on as Emerging Global Leaders.

After being assigned a roommate we were given a tour of The Marriot Hotel with all its grandeur, its spacious environment and multi-purpose facilities- spas, pools, ballrooms, games rooms, malls and much more all overlooking a beautiful seemingly blue sand and sea beach in St. Kitts.
We were able to listen and enjoy speeches from individuals with varying backgrounds, circumstances, cultures and statuses. All proved to be very effective and held my interest very well since they were ever so often, animated and employed the use of power point by means of a projector as a visual aid. From all the speeches we were able to grasp a few common points :–

1. Good leaders model the way for others.
2. Good leaders are principle centered in areas such as equity, justice, honesty and service.
3. Good leaders are continually learning which reminded me that we never do know enough since new things are being brought forth as we take them in.
4. Effective leaders are goal oriented in that they have clearly set in mind what they want to achieve and they work their way toward their goal
5. They inspire and enable others to act and challenge the status quo in that they ask the awkward questions- the ones everyone wants to know but is never brave enough to ask.

During the period of my stay we also had a group identity project in which we named ourselves and created an identifying poster based on our thoughts and this taught me how to listen to varying opinions and ideas and incorporate them in such a way that it neither seemed self centered or foolish on my behalf. This indeed taught me teamwork.

One of my joys was being able to share with persons my Guyana – its attributes such as its luscious fertile virgin forests with a budding ecosystem along with its geography using visual aids of animals and places to do so even explaining our symbols and this indeed generated lots of interest and drew attention to my country’s finer assets.

I have also been given a huge task to complete within my school called a “Community Project” in which my topic is litter and I was required to put pen to paper to outline my strategy for getting participation in this endeavor and given a 1 yr period to complete it and give a feedback to EGLP.

We also had a reception in which we were able to have a marvelous time eating, conversing and dancing the night away under the observing eyes of our mentors and chaperons. A talent show was done showcasing poetry, persons composing their own songs and playing them, piano rendition and many other unusual talents. It proved very fruitful and the program facilitators and mentors indeed saw my diligence reflected in my work and were as delighted as I was to have me here for such a wonderful experience.