What could be better than spending part of the summer in the glorious Finger Lakes? Taking advantage of its beautiful setting along the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake, Wells College offers many opportunities for warm weather recreation.

One way the college utilizes its optimal lakeside location while contributing to leadership education is by hosting two, four-day summer conferences. Designed specifically for rising high school seniors, the goal of these conferences is to share with students a mature, sophisticated view of leadership and encourage a commitment to exercising it in their lives.

While attending the conference, students stay in College residence halls and take their meals in the campus dining hall. Nearly 90 students enrolled this summer; they came to Aurora from most of the New England states, New York, Indiana and Oregon.

Students have the opportunity to meet and network with other high school students who are interested in developing leadership qualities, and with college staff who serve as mentors and counselors. They participate in a number of interactive workshops and enjoy lake swimming, field trips to area attractions like the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, and evening activities including bonfires and s'mores by the lake, movies, ultimate Frisbee and night tours of campus that play on Wells' ghost stories.

Several talented Wells and non-Wells speakers were selected this year to lead workshops on such topics as Conscientiousness of Self, Congruence and Commitment, Collaboration, and Controversy with Civility. Within this context, they addressed such issues as leadership styles, diversity, peace circles, inclusivity, conflict resolution and teamwork.

In addition to the workshops, the Admissions Office offered an overview of the college search and admission process. Another popular session was titled “Peer Theatre: Being a Student Leader.”

“Peer Theatre is a set of scenes acted out by the counselors,” conference coordinator Melissa Hutson explained to me. “The scenes are related to wellness and academic issues that the students may encounter at college. The counselors serve as peer educators and teach students effective ways to handle issues at college and what resources to look for on college campuses, such as the writing center, medical services and more.”

David Rosch, assistant director of leadership programs in the Office of Residence Life at Syracuse University, gave an upbeat keynote address on “Societal Values and Citizenship.” He challenged the students to take home the lessons learned at the conference, and shared personal anecdotes about leadership from his own experiences and those of the college students with whom he has worked.

In preparation for the conference, attendees were asked to submit two issues of concern from their home communities and schools. One of the most valuable components of the conference is providing the time, guidance, and resources for students to explore and discuss these issues with peers who share related interests. Past topics included alcohol and drug issues, student apathy, cliques, and consensus building.

Based on the topics they submitted, students were paired at the beginning of the week into groups of five to eight peers with similar concerns. They attended the workshops, and had ample time to speak with others, meet with conference counselors, and work together on solutions for their chosen topic. Some subjects considered this summer were integrity issues, environmental concerns and school policy/student government.

Melissa was pleased with the students' projects this year: “I was particularly impressed by a group of students that focused on school violence. What amazed me was the discussion that it stimulated among the students attending the conference. They really had insightful thoughts and ideas about how to make their high schools safer. This reflects a national trend since [the shootings in] Columbine in 1999 #- high school students today are more concerned about security than past generations.”

Both conference sessions culminated with the student groups making PowerPoint presentations on their projects to the rest of the attendees. Upon departing campus, each student received a CD with their presentation along with a “digital yearbook” that included candid and group photos of their session. They were encouraged to share the CD with their communities and high school administrators.

Welcoming scholars to campus, especially during the summer months, is a win-win situation for both the students and Wells College.

Kelly Tehan is communications director at Wells College in Aurora