Students learn team building at leadership conference

Leadership and team building were on the top of the agenda at a school in Dickinson County Wednesday.

The North Dickinson Student Council held the third annual Youth Leadership Conference in Felch.  The conference allows student leaders to share leadership topics that they find valuable with students from nearby schools.

Another important aspect of the conference is to meet new students from neighboring districts.  More schools participated in this year’s conference than ever before.

“Every year, the conference is growing, so every year we have more and more students coming from other schools, and this year we’re at 150 students coming into our school,” North Dickinson Student Council co-advisor Rebecca Nord said.

“They know the students from North Dickinson,” Forest Park Student Council advisor Megan Bottesi said.  “We work pretty closely with North Dickinson and West Iron, so it’s good for them to meet some people from Iron Mountain, Kingsford, Norway, and Niagara as well.”

Student leaders share various skills and ideas through a series of workshop sessions.  Reaction from participants has been quite positive.

“They go through different sessions, like leadership styles and public speaking, and a session on unwritten rules, and then they do an idea exchange,” Nord said.

“They’re so excited to do our activities and participate and get to know each other,” North  Dickinson Student Council Vice President Sarah Swiss said. “It’s very exciting to be a part of it.”

Local businesses provided over $1,000 worth of monetary and food donations, which allowed North Dickinson to hold the conference free of charge.