Eleven students and three advisers from CedarBridge Academy attended an international leadership conference in Washington DC — and also took the opportunity to tour the White House.

The ‘LEAD: Energize Your Leadership!’ conference was hosted by the [Inter]National Association of Secondary School Principals.

We toured the White House and although we did not get to meet the President, we met his two adorable dogs, Sunny and Bo. Next, we travelled to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Following that informative experience, we made our way to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. A sophomore, Alexis Thornton gave us a tour of the campus and hosted an international student panel.

Our next stop was the conference. The first general session opened with entertainment and a welcome. We split up into eight groups and participated in leadership energising exercises and icebreakers. We got to know people from all over the world, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and Marianas. It was very encouraging to know that schools from all over the world could join together to better our leadership skills and give each other ideas on how we can improve our schools and community.

When the conference began we watched a video on bullying and self-esteem. After the second general session, we attended various leadership sessions. Most sessions were small groups led by National Honor Society or Student Council/Government students. We divided ourselves so that our school could benefit from as much as possible. Examples of sessions were: Team Building 101, Student Retreats for Your School, Are You Ready for College, You May be Talking, But Who’s Really Listening? After a dinner break, we went to the third general session with guest speaker Brodie Kaster. It was based on achieving dreams and not giving up.

We attended the closing general session. Andy Thibodeau delivered an excellent speech, “Caring is Contagious”; caring more about our schools and those around us. Later that day, we visited the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and Martin Luther King junior Memorial. We also had the privilege of touring the Capitol building in Washington DC. We observed the Senate and House of Representatives in session. We are quite fortunate to have attended this inspirational trip.

The students were Shantel Ball, Jayla Burt, Taahira Butterfield, Kjeld Conyers-Steede, Naimah Frith, Kevonte Jennings-Lathan, Kierra Lee, Naomi Lightbourne, Aminah Simmons, Tahirah Smith, DaShontae Walker. The three advisers accompanying the students were Mrs Khandice Darrell, Ms Anya Thompson and Mrs Maxine Webb.