Leadership Summit sets CJUSD students on a mission
The annual Summit is held for the first time in two years at CHS, offering students across the district new skills and opportunities for personal growth
Student leaders across the district came to CHS to solve Mission: I’m Possible.
Colton, CA—Saturday’s Leadership Summit event began with the kidnapping of Colton High ASB Director Alex Buskirk and ended with the arrest of Link Crew adviser Michael Esquivel.
These theatrics bookended a day filled with workshops and sessions dedicated to supporting student leaders across CJUSD.
Over 600 students from CJUSD’s middle and high schools came together at Colton High to attend the annual summit. The event, hosted this year by CHS’s ASB, had been on hiatus for the last two years, so Colton had to make this year memorable.
The theme for this year’s summit was “Mission: I’m Possible.” At the beginning of the day, students were presented with a scenario in which Buskirk was kidnapped by Esquivel, then encouraged to pick up clues as to her whereabouts as they worked through the day’s session workshops.
A wide range of leaders participated in the summit. CHS welcomed Web Crew, Link Crew, ASB, Renaissance, sport leaders, and club officers. Sixteen sessions were held focusing on a number of useful topics, such as communication, flyer design, cultural proficiency, wellness, branding, social media leadership, and “Bringing the WOW Factor.”
Buskirk, freed from captivity, shared her excitement about the event. “[Students are] going to learn new skills, build upon old ones, and kind of grow as individuals to take back to their schools.”
Bella Armendariz, a middle school leader from Colton Middle shared that she learned a lot from the event, especially “to not give up on yourself.”
The day began with keynote speakers from the youth outreach organization Rescue a Generation. Their CEO, Jose Rodriguez, and Program Director, Brandon Allen spoke to the assembly of student leaders about being your own superhero. Their message shared the idea that being a leader doesn’t mean waiting around for people to tell you what to do and taking charge.
Having all these student leaders gathered and sharing their experiences shows why it is important to learn leadership tools. For a while, all differences and school loyalties disappeared as everyone was bonded by a mutual desire to be the change they want to see in the world.
However, as the day ended, the rivalry was back on. With Colton’s football team traveling to Grand Terrace High on Friday, August 26 for what looks like one of the biggest football games of the 2022 season, the two school’s leadership teams reignited the flames of rivalry. While on the bus ready to head home, GT students began chanting, “Who’s house? T’s house!” Not to be topped, CHS sent them off with a chant of their own: “COLTON! COLTON! COLTON!”
Recently, the CHS Publications Department experienced a major theft as over $20,000 in photography equipment was stolen from our studio over Spring Break. This included all cameras. Any amount you donate will help rebuild our program. Thank you!
Bella Winter is a freshman at Colton High School. When she's not cheering for the Yellowjackets, you can find her at the Pepper Bough writing about events,...