We are gearing up for PL academy on Oct. 20th! We hope to see PL’s there and are looking for volunteers and alumni to make the day powerful! If you want to volunteer, contact us!

What do you get when you mix together human bingo, Cranium Craze, the Mexican Hat Dance, The Dougie, The Meringue, and 55 Bay Area youth discussing and sharing leadership styles and event ideas?  You get the 2^nd Annual College Summit Peer Leader Academy. On November 13, 2010, youth from 18 Bay Area high schools gathered at the Lake Merritt United Methodist Church. About six months prior these same students met on college campuses for a four-day workshop to help prep them for their senior year and the college admission plans.

This reunion, of sorts, offered Class of 2011 Peer Leaders the opportunity to reconnect with friends made over the summer who attend different high schools while also building leadership skills. The day kicked off with a rousing game of Cranium Craze, a game blending together Cranium and Chutes and Ladders. The game reminded students how to get to graduation and beyond while preparing for life after high school.  

Students also had the opportunity to hone in on their individual plans when gathering into groups based on their goals. Two alumni, Monica Buenrostro (Lionel Wilson College Preparatory ‘09) and Abbas Khalid (Youth Empowerment School ‘10), guided students through deciding which group they should join during the activity. All the groups were named after dances—The Dougie, The Mexican Hat Dance and The Meringue and based off what steps Peer Leaders had already taken in their efforts to reach their goals. Monica and Abbas also lead small group discussions with the students. By sharing their personal experiences, lessons learned and advice, Monica and Abbas were able to help and encourage Peer Leaders to stay focused and push through their obstacles. Evaluations were anonymous, so that Peer Leaders would feel comfortable sharing their honest opinions. One Peer Leader wrote on their evaluation that the Application Madness “brought me back to reality into my senior year. It also directed me into what I should be doing.”

We know being a leader has its challenges and successes. Peer Leaders are no different than any other group of leaders. Some groups struggle with getting everyone together for a meeting, others are meeting regularly and taking on different roles as they plan events or mentor younger students. How could the College Summit staff get Peer Leaders to share their current challenges and successes with one another? Well, through a lesson on successful community organizing and speed dating to share best practices, of course. Conversation echoed throughout the room, as Peer Leaders shared their experiences. One Peer Leader wrote, “It gave me ideas on how to improve my school.”  Another wrote that the sharing of best practices provided them with a clear vision of what they want their Peer Leader group to be doing at their school.

By the end of the afternoon when the donated pasta from Olive Garden and the Red Velvet cake had been served, Peer Leaders were ready to take their new ideas and skills and put them to use at their schools. Many of them said they were excited to share the information with their teachers and fellow students, demonstrating their strong leadership, desire to help others and work with a team of people to create change.

One Peer Leader said on their evaluation, “I will use what I have learned to teach other Peer Leaders, so that we can grow stronger as a group and make more positive changes happen in our community.”