2016 Leadership Conference in Lake George

Holden Decker, Hannah Thompson, Lindsey Gileski, Adam Mancini, Riley Flint, Kaylee Bagdan, and Christian Hines all attended the 2016 Leadership Conference at the Great Escape Lodge in Lake George on November 18th. Students from all over upstate New York attended the conference. The leadership conference is a great place to interact with other leaders from different schools. The main theme of the conference was LIFE “Live It Fully Everyday.”

As we entered, they had us pick a table letter out of a hat. By mixing up the students from different schools, we got to know all of the people at our table over breakfast.. Through unique games and interesting conversation, we were able to learn quite a bit about one another. I learned what extra-curricular activities everyone participated in, and the things that they enjoyed, and realized that I had a lot in common with them. After this, we played some ice breaker games. My favorite one was when everyone had to hold onto a piece of yarn, say three facts about themselves, and throw the spool to someone new. This created a spider web with the circle of people and this helped you branch out and make new friends. Additionally, we had to remember what facts the person who threw the yarn to you said. This ensured that we were really paying attention to each person as they spoke and truly listened to what they had to say, creating a more welcoming environment. Other ice breakers we played were Shout, in which everyone looked forward at the same time and if they made eye contact with someone they would have to shout louder than the other person, and The Question Game in which every member of the table had to answer questions like “If you could be any animal what would you be and why?” based on the color starburst they took from their table. All of these games allowed us to get to know the people around us so that we were more comfortable and had a more open mind.

The best part of the whole conference was listening to a professional motivational speaker. Justin Boudreau came all of the way from his home in San Diego, California to share his story about embracing who you are and perseverance. Like many others, Justin was picked on as a little boy and was certainly not the most popular kid. He used to kick the soccer ball against the school during gym so that it would come back to him instead of kicking the ball with a partner. Justin’s coach told Justin that he was good and should try out for the soccer team. This was a huge confidence builder for Justin because it was the first time he felt accepted. Justin also found joy in dancing at school in talent shows. He even won when he was in elementary school. However, once Justin got older he faced the challenges of judgement when he realized that no one in middle school did the talent show. Justin tried out as a middle schooler and he didn’t tell anyone of his friends due to the fear of being picked on. At the talent show, he performed a Michael Jackson song in front of a ton of people including people in his grade. Justin did not win but he gained the respect of many students. They even began talking to him instead of ignoring him. The most popular and beautiful girl even came up to Justin and commended his performance. She then told him that this wasn’t the real her and she didn’t like pretending to be someone she wasn’t. She secretly loved to write poetry and was very nice. Hearing this, Justin learned that everyone sometimes pretends to be someone they are not. He went on to tell us the main reason he went to schools and conferences like this one: to try to eliminate the need for that pretending. Justin’s main message was to get rid of your “fimage” or “fake image.” He said that even celebrities, who sometimes seem like they have it all figured out, have a fear of their image. Eliminating this fear was Justin’s goal. This means embracing who you are and soon others will too.  

We concluded the evening with a great lunch and the powerful message to be yourself and never let anyone change that.