Activities

Seniors represent BC at Wisconsin Leaders of Tomorrow

Eric Chen, Editor-in-Chief|October 31, 2017

On Sunday, Sep. 10, eight of ten nominated Brookfield Central seniors attended the Wisconsin Leaders of Tomorrow (WLT) Leadership Workshop and Awards Ceremony. Those students in attendance included Bipasha Sobhani, Eric Chen, Sophia Sun, Chelsea Russell, Lizzie Peterson, Grace Chialiva, Suzy Dawood, and Evelyn Doan. Students that were nominated but could not attend the workshop included Ryan Linnihan and Catherine Durham. The eight BC students were joined by twenty students from other schools in the Greater Milwaukee area including Brookfield East, Marquette University High School, Divine Savior Holy Angels, Catholic Memorial, and Brookfield Academy.

This organization, part of the International Leadership Network, strives to recognize the many contributions made by outstanding young people in the Milwaukee area. After nomination by a teacher or member of the community, prospective Leaders of Tomorrow submitted an application to enter the program. Upon acceptance, students wrote an essay detailing the greatest social challenge facing the class of 2018, compiled a leadership resume, and conducted an interview with a member of the business community. It was only after these highly involved steps that students were announced as Wisconsin Leaders of Tomorrow. “It felt stressful at times because I wanted to make sure my items were completed to the best of my ability,” stated Russell. “However, it was a very noncompetitive setting, so I wasn’t overly stressed about that.”

Each component was judged on a numerical scale, with the winner being the student with the highest combined total. Individual awards were also given to those students with the highest score in each respective category. Of the eight BCHS students in attendance, three of them won special distinctions: Chelsea Russell won the “Best Resume” award, Eric Chen won the “Best Essay” award, and Sophia Sun was named as one of two Wisconsin Leaders of the Year, with the highest combined score. As a result, she will attend the Town Meeting on Tomorrow Oct. 21-24, a national leadership conference at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

The awards came as a pleasant surprise to many in the room. “I knew how amazing everyone in the program was and the level of competition, so I definitely was not expecting to win!” said Russell. However, she was thrilled when her name was announced, affirming that “it felt great – I put a lot of time into this program and my leadership positions, and having that recognized was amazing.”

Despite the rigor of the program, Sun enjoyed the process, stating that “the best part of Leaders of Tomorrow was meeting all of the student leaders in the community and sharing ideas about various social and political topics.” As the program draws to a close, current juniors will be nominated as a potential candidate in the winter.