A high-achieving teenager has been selected to represent the Island at a prestigious youth leadership programme founded by a former US President.

Bermudian Aaron Bassett, 16, of Saltus Grammar School was nominated for the People To People ambassador leadership summit after achieving an above-average score on his PSAT exams, recently.

He will participate in the summit along with representatives from some 65 countries from around the world.

Being held at the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, California, from August 15-24, the summit will focus on leadership, team building and community service skills in addition to the college admissions process and professional aspiration development.

The youngsters will work on action plans to make a difference in their communities through several key methods.

“I have a strong interest in business,” said Aaron. “Either accounting or a financial analysis, that’s the area I would like to be in because I’m good at Maths.”

When asked what he hoped to learn from the elite summit, he added: “It’s all about leadership. I hope to become better at speaking in public as well as optimising my self-confidence.

“I want to take those skills into the community and, since I’ll be meeting people from around the world, I think that will help me even more.”

He is in the process of touring universities in order to select one to attend once he graduates.

He’s currently taking college preparatory and advanced placement courses at his school and is expected to take the actual SAT exam in October.

In existence for 50 years, those accepted for the summit must meet rigorous academic and leadership requirements.

Former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded the scheme during his presidency in 1956, to foster world citizenship and his philosophy of “peace through understanding.”

For additional information, log onto www.lsleaders.org.