Leading by example

Christine Carrillo

It’s a class about leadership.

It’s a class about community service.

It’s a class that invites students such as 13-year-old Jeff Wallace to reach out and help others in the manner of a true leader.

Jeff, who has been volunteering his time at a local horse stable

helping disabled people ride and care for horses, has developed a

hands-on knowledge of leadership and its possible effect in society.

That’s precisely one of the purposes of the class at Ethel Dwyer

Middle School in Huntington Beach.

“In this class, you learn to be a leader and not to be a

follower,” Jeff said.

Through his participation in the class, Jeff, like the other 45

students in the class, also gets the chance to develop and promote

different school-related activities.

“I am very impressed by your leadership of the student body,”

Principal Duane Cox said to the leadership students and student

council members. “When students are in charge of activities ... and

they solve problems together, they listen more and more things

happen.”

By learning to work together as an efficient governing body and

developing their leadership skills, students involved in student

government and the leadership class can fine-tune the qualities they

need to take on challenging and influential roles and make things

happen.

“I wanted to be a leader,” said Lauren Stover, an eighth-grade

leadership class student and a member of student council. “It gives

you good ideas on how to help.”

The class, which meets every morning, plans community service

adventures and works toimplement different activities that increase

school pride and enhance the school’s overall atmosphere.

They also work on bettering themselves.

“We’re behind it all,” said seventh-grader Ryan Marks, a member of

student council who is taking the class. “We learn attributes that

make us better people. ... We grow mentally.”