For the 2016-2017 school year, two students from Revere High School will represent the school in Junior Leadership Akron (JLA), a non-profit organization that provides leadership training.
The organization receives two members from the junior class of each high school in Summit County and hosts meetings for these members throughout the year, in which they meet with prominent people in the community to strengthen their bonds to the area. Becca Fisher and Cassidy Kohman have attended this year.

“The goal of JLA is to give students the opportunity to learn about everything in Akron and use that knowledge to improve the community. The JLA alumni are trying to build new leaders. By taking two students from every school in Akron, those students can take the information back to their schools and share it with other students,” Kohmann said.

The students primarily receive training by traveling to monthly, themed retreats, during which they meet with prominent people in Akron.

“Based on that theme, we visit significant places in the Akron area. We listen to guest speakers discuss the opportunities they have had in Akron and also the knowledge they have gained from their career choice. For example, we had a government and education day. We visited city hall and learned how decisions are made and how the government of Akron is run. We met Mayor Horrigan and he explained his job and everything [the government] does for the community,” Kohmann said.

Fisher also attended that meeting and feels that she personally benefitted from it.

“I was already considering a career in politics but that experience helped me realize my more specific interest in government and the inner-workings of City Council. It has also helped me gain a new respect for Akron and has increased the likelihood that I come back here to start my career after college,” Fisher said.

Students begin the application process in the winter of Sophomore year. Guidance counselor Jenny Kirchner leads the selection process for the organization, but she stresses that students not accepted to JLA can still find many other leadership opportunities through the school.

“We start with announcements asking any student who is interested who is in tenth grade for Junior Leadership Akron to come see me. I ask them to write one paragraph, and, once they give me the paragraph, that is basically their ticket to an interview. I also email every teacher in the building and ask them to put forth some students who they think have shown potential for leadership. We invite every student who has written an essay or has asked for leadership opportunities and those the teachers have recommended to an interview with the counsellors and administrators. We have a rating scale, and all of the students who come in know they are being interviewed. Then we add up the points, and whoever had the most points goes,” Kirchner said.

As this year’s JLA program reaches its midpoint, the guidance department will begin the process of selecting next year’s participants. In January, the meeting covered business, science, and technology, and, in February, the organization will discuss justice.