Students and administrators from six schools in Clinton County met at Wilmington College on Tuesday, Sept. 18 for the first Leadership Clinton Youth Collaborative meeting of the 2018-2019 school year.

Leadership Clinton is a program established to create awareness of the challenges facing our communities and to give students the leadership tools needed to effectively find solutions to these problems.

Schools attending the meeting included Blanchester High School, Clinton-Massie High School, East Clinton High School, Laurel Oaks Career Campus, Wilmington High School, and Wilmington Christian Academy. Students participated in leadership and team bonding exercises led by guest speakers and county officials.

The speakers included Jermaine Isaac, Director of Wilmington City Parks, who led the group through exercises to develop friendships between the students. Jermaine also educated the group about the local parks and the need for funding and improvement within our own communities.

Later, Stephen Crouch, Associate Director of the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission, spoke to the group about the importance of young leaders.

Chip Murdock, Director of Multicultural Affairs at Wilmington College, taught the group about not judging a person by their looks, race, or their opinions. Murdock also taught the students that every single person has a specific role in life no matter how small their actions are.

The class will resume in October with a focus on history and culture.

About Leadership Clinton

The Clinton County Leadership Institute was created in the fall of 1986.

Over 140 companies and individuals have sponsored more than 500 graduates in the adult program and more than 400 youths have graduated from the Youth collaborative program begun in 1994.