Three St. Laurence Students Develop Leadership Skills at Conference in Florida

Three Southwest Side students who attend St. Laurence High School recently returned from an international leadership event held in Florida.

Novak, Doherty and Soukal

Representing the school were Chris Doherty, a graduate of St. Symphorosa School; Billy Novak, a graduate of St. Joseph School; and Jerry Soukal, a graduate of St. Jane de Chantal.

The three teen leaders participated in the ACTION Leadership Workshop conducted by the North American Province of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. The workshop was held in St. Johns, Florida at the Marywood Catholic Retreat Center from September 27-30. Fifty-one students and 24 moderators from 17 schools traveled from as far away as Hawaii, Vancouver, Argentina, California, Uruguay, Boston, and Rhode Island for the conference.

Also attending were Brother Tim Smyth, Campus Minister of St. Laurence, and Mark Scott, director of the leadership program at St. Laurence.

The North American Province of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers includes schools in 10 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Two South American schools were also represented at the workshop.

Students gathered for three days of leadership development focused on team-building, communication, and advocacy skills. As part of learning advocacy skills, students created their own advocacy projects that they will continue to expand once they return to their schools. Students and moderators were given opportunities to exchange ideas and ask questions about programs and initiatives at each other’s schools.

Everyone gathered each day to participate in prayer services that were conducted by students from different schools.  At the end of the workshop, the students were commissioned during a Mass to return to their schools with their new skills and a sense of purpose to help deepen Edmund Rice’s vision of educating young people for service in the world.

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