News Releases 2008

The youth leadership conference “The Power to Think, the Will to Act” will be held Thursday, Jan. 8 on the LeTourneau University campus. The conference is a joint project between the Longview Independent School District Office of International Baccalaureate Initiatives and the LeTourneau University Office of Special Programs and is based on the Harvard Graduate School of Education Principal’s Center model of team building activities, training, and reflection.

“We want to reach out, not only to the world, but also to the community and the local students,” said Marty Lane, LETU Director of Special Programs.

Each secondary school in Longview will select 100 students to attend the day-long leadership training event, in addition to 100 students from other Texas schools. Participants will include students from LISD, Pine Tree ISD, Hallsville ISD, Spring Hill ISD and the Trinity School of Texas, as well as schools from the Dallas area, including Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and Garland ISD.

Various activities will be held throughout the day to build teamwork and leadership skills. LETU students will serve as models of leadership as they lead participants in small group sessions, facilitating discussion about their own leadership experience. They will also present information about LETU student projects, including LeTourneau Engineering Global Solutions (LEGS).

“Our students will be able to share about what they’re working on that affects the world,” said Lane.

The general session will take place at 1 p.m. in the university’s S.E. Belcher Jr., Chapel and Performance Center, 2100 South Mobberly Ave. The session will feature two inspiring college student leaders, Yordanos Refu, an Ethiopian immigrant who credits the IB programme for her success in college, and Britney Grayson, a student whose original research has brought promising results toward finding a cure for lupus.

Other guests will include Karen Phillips, Executive Director of Texas IB Schools, and Paul Campbell, Director of Outreach for the IB of the Americas, as well as Rick Arrington, Coordinator of the University of Tulsa, and County Judge Bill Stoudt.

The IB, a nonprofit educational foundation, offers international education programs for students aged 3 to 19 that help develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world. LISD offers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme.

Both LISD and LETU administrators hope the conference will help students recognize and develop their natural leadership abilities.

“Every talent is valued by God,” said Margaret Davis, LISD Director of IB. “You can start making a difference now, where you are.”