BlueStone Press, April 17, 2015 , Page 13

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By Jillian NadiakBSP Reporter

The Rondout Valley Business Association (RVBA) is about to finish the first session of their new eight week-long leadership program at Rondout High School.

Every Monday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., two speakers from the local business community have come in to share words of wisdom on their own experiences and thoughts on leadership, give students a different perspective on life, and encour-age them to think about careers and leadership.

According to RVBA president Rich-ard Travers, the Leadership Institute is a “three-tier” program. The first phase featured mock interviews with a plethora of professionals at the high school during a lunch period, giving interested students a taste of the interview process. The weekly meetings were phase two. “The third part of the program is the job fair. We see this as an ongoing multi-year pro-gram,” said Travers.

From business owners to retired Marines, a variety of people with different areas of expertise have spoken at the weekly meetings. Speakers described of their successes and failures in life, helping students put everything into perspective to start exploring possible career options. Students are allowed to ask questions.

Rondout junior Robert Melikyan is a participant in the program. “We’re going to be going out into the world soon and it seems that every decision we make is going to be the decision that makes or breaks our life,” he said. “I feel more informed on my future now. I think the most impor-tant thing that I realized is that not everything is defined by one action. Your life isn’t going to be made or broken by the college you get into or your first job or anything else that you do.”

On April 8, Rondout students attended a job fair at Ulster County Community College to meet and make connections with business owners in the communities. Educational committee chair Matthew Green believes that this helps plant the seeds to have students start think-ing about their own passions.

The low-cost program is funded by the Rondout Valley

Business Association. “It’s basically volunteer and the cost is people’s time,” said Green.

“Superintendent Rosario Agostaro and Principal Robert Cook are fantastic.” Green said. “They really supported this approach. We reached out to them and they reached out to guidance counselors, the parents association, various people among the high school community.” The program involves 18-25 students.

Parent Chris Stanley said that her 15-year-old son Brandon has enjoyed the program, which he first entered without knowing what to expect. “He was so motivated by the speakers and their stories of success,” she said. “He came home and told us that when he gets his first job he

has decided that 50 percent is going to go into saving, 25 percent is going into his pocket to spend and the other 25 percent will go towards retirement. He has regained a lot of focus and I find it just incredible. I wish the program lasted all year.”

Green says he owes the success of the program to the time and energy put forward by the speakers and the educational com-mittee, and would like to see it duplicated in other districts.

“Going across the Ulster County high schools, I would love to see some of this implemented,” said Green. “If we set the stage, it’s just a matter of people willing to invest time and energy to find good speak-

ers to make those connections in their area to expose those students to the local expertise and talent. It could really pay dividends for students to start thinking about their lives.” The Ulster County Leadership Program, he said, was a source of inspiration that was then fine-tuned for a high school population.

“I think that it speaks volumes that the students come back every week,” said Green. “They appreciate the diversity of speakers and their backgrounds, and so the take-aways are all positive.”

Green says that he couldn’t be happier with the results. “I think, going forward, there are still things we can fine tune. But I think that that’s just the nature of developing and implementing a new program.”

The goal is to have the program twice a year, with eight week sessions in fall and spring. “We only have two [meetings] left and some of these kids have already said that they are going to miss coming to the Monday meet-ings. They look forward to coming to the presentations,” said Green.

He credits the program’s success to a joint effort involving Agostaro, Cook, the RVBA and the educational committee. “They have been very supportive. They’re ecstatic about the results so far. If we continue to have the dynamite speakers we have had, it’s going to continue to have an impact on these students.”

Leadership Institute inspires RVHS studentsBusiness community takes their expertise to Rondout

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