20 Teens Chosen for Leadership Program

Twenty teenagers from high schools throughout the Valley have become the first local group to take part in a national program that teaches leadership skills and promotes community involvement.

The Prudential Youth Leadership Institute was established in 1996 by Prudential Insurance Co. of America to “rekindle the American spirit of community-based volunteerism and service among today’s young people.”

The 20 teens selected for the program represent the cultural and socioeconomic diversity of the Valley, said Cambria Smith, of the Volunteer Assistance League of Southern California, a Panorama City-based organization that is the local partner agency for Prudential’s program.

The program’s curriculum includes extensive training in team-building, interpersonal communication and problem solving--the same skills taught to business executives and government managers, Smith said.

The goal is for the students to plan and implement their own community service project after they complete the course work.

A weekend retreat in Angeles National Forest provided a good setting for students to break the ice, Smith said.

“At first I didn’t think we could all work together because we are so different,” said Helen Kot, 16, an 11th-grader at Grant High School. “But we learned to compromise and share things and we all helped each other out.”

To prepare for their community service project, the students have been volunteering at different organizations. Today, the group will meet and exchange ideas with a panel of executives from organizations and corporations such as the Red Cross, United Way and Disney.

Oliver Hall, 17, who lives in the Pico-Union area of Los Angeles and attends Grant High School, said the program offers teens unique opportunities to meet people--and assist the community.

“The best thing about it is feeling good that you’re helping out other people who really need it,” he said.