Leadership High School visits local businesses

The Leadership High School program visited multiple businesses in the Hill County area Wednesday to experience life outside of school and see what the community has to offer.

Leadership High School is a joint effort between the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce and Havre High School that enables students to get involved in community service projects.   

Students who are part of Leadership High do not get extra credits but will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

Havre Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jody Olson said that this is the 19th year the chamber has done this program and every year she speaks to the sophomore class, telling them about the program. Afterward, she gives them an application to the program, she said.

The program is open to 20 high school junior students, she said, and takes place for six months with one activity a month. Their last event, Olson said, is a job shadowing followed by a luncheon and graduation ceremony for the program in March.

Havre High School Counselor John Ita said that these students may not be the stars on athletic teams or perfect-A students but they still have something that can make them future leaders.

"I think that's the best part of it is they're taking kids that are with tremendous potential," he said, "... and you're taking them and showing them what the community is and what the possibilities of the community are."

Olson said Leadership High shows students a little bit of their own community and shows them what leadership opportunities are available to them.

"What is out in the world," she added.

Ita said he would like to see each one of the kids in the program think differently about their community and possibly consider working in the community in the future. He added the program also teaches them life skills and, with companies getting involved with the program, they are able to make the experience more real to students.

These are real people, people with homelives, that are speaking to these kids, he said, sharing knowledge with the students that will help them in the future.

Ita said that most of these kids may not stay in the Havre community. Some will move places for school or careers in the future, but no matter where they go, he said, he wants them to understand what it means to be a community.

"You begin to realize that, whatever community I land in, here are the resources available to me, here is how I can be more involved," he said.

He added, he wants the students to not just feel like it is them and their family or them against the world, but a community that surrounds them.

Through the six month program, which has an event every month, the students are able to gain exposure to a variety of different things, Olson said. She added that she wants students to be more interactive with their community because they are a big part of its future.

"I hope they learn something about being a leader," she said.

These students are the next generation of leaders, she said, and she wants them to get involved with the towns they live in. Olson said she also wants to show them that anyone can be a leader and that what makes a leader are the small things, such as recognizing when someone is in trouble and doing the right thing.

This was the first year Walmart has gotten involved with the program, she said. She added that Walmart Store Manager Kasey Dietz came into her office asking how he and Walmart can be more involved in the community. She said she was happy that he came in and suggested that Walmart get involved with Leadership High.

Ita said he doesn't have a favorite community business tour, each one having its own merits and highlights, but because Walmart is new it is very interesting.

Dietz took the Leadership High group on a tour through the store explaining different segments and duties within the store. Dietz also explained the reasoning behind policies and answered questions from the students.

"(Dietz) is doing a nice job, keeping the kids engaged," Ita said.

Olson said the students like interactive activities, adding that Diets was great with interacting with the students and keeping them engaged.

Ita said he was unsure how a national chain like Walmart would fit with the program but was impressed with how everything was going during the tour.

Olson said that earlier in the day the students went to Triangle Communications, going on a tour of the facilities and listening to a variety of speakers from around town.

Along with these two stops the student's heard five other presentations.

Independence Bank Deposit Retention Officer Kristi Peterson spoke to the students about rules of life; Waddell and Reed of Great Falls Investment Advisor Darren Overlie spoke on budgeting their money; The Transformation Center therapist Anne Neal-Dugdale spoke on communication skills; Credit Bureau of Havre Owner Brent Reber spoke on finances, and Triangle Communication Vice President of Customer Operations led a tour of the facility.

Dietz said he wanted to get involved because he has a passion for community. Growing up in a small town in Nebraska, he said, he understands that businesses of any kind play in part in the communities they are in.

"I believe very strongly in being in the community, being involved with the community," he said.

Anything businesses can get involved with in the community is great, he said. Dietz said he also wanted to encourage people to look into careers at Walmart that can appeal to a younger generation.

He added that Walmart employs approximately 30 associates who are attending high school.

"I really wanted them to know Walmart is a good place to start their career," he said.

In this first year being involved with the Leadership High School, Dietz said he was surprised by the questions the students were asking, such as how trucks are unloaded, why the store is organized the way it is and what type of theft deterrent system the store has.

"All the questions were great," he said. "I really appreciated the group's engagement."

He added that he would be interested in doing this again with the program in the future.

Student Alyssa Smith said Leadership High was something new she wanted to be involved in. She added that she is not in any sports or clubs but wanted to be involved in something to help with going to college. She added that they were learning life skills that they normally wouldn't have learned in school.

Cameron Pleninger said that he is in the program because he could learn what it means to be a leader. He said he also found a new respect for the community.

"We take advantage without seeing everything that goes into it," he said.

Samantha Oliver added that she was interested in learning more about customer service.

Many of the students agreed that they learned a lot from Leadership High, saying that the information will help them in the future as well as in college.

From a guidance counselor's perspective, Ita said, this program is part of the territory, but with his background as a teacher, he appreciates plugging students into the community and showing them the resources available.

He said he wants every student to understand that no matter where they go they belong to a community.

"I want them to leave with 'that is how I can participate in the community,'" he said.