Building future leaders!
Career & Technical Education (CTE) students representing all six comprehensive high schools in LISD participated in the Cedar Park Chamber’s inaugural Youth Leadership Academy Class.
Throughout the nine-month program, the students discovered how business, government, healthcare, nonprofits and community leadership all work together — while also building the awareness, skills and connections needed to become part of the region’s future workforce.
The first cohort was recognized at a graduation ceremony on May 21.
“The Cedar Park Youth Leadership Academy aims to bring students closer to civic and business leaders, and create meaningful experiences that stick with them long after the program ends,” said Andrea Kornegay, vice president of the Cedar Park Chamber. “The program exists to give the students a powerful message: Your community believes in you and your future matters. Strong leaders don’t just appear. They’re shaped, guided and encouraged. They are our future workforce.”
Cleo Wang, a Vandegrift High School student and participant in the class, said the experience changed the way many students think about what success means to them. “After listening to the managers and leaders in these spaces talk about their work and their lives, it made me realize that fulfillment and success can look very different for everyone,” Wang said. “The classes not only made me want to go into business and law even more after seeing all the cool things professionals do behind the scenes, but they also helped me see that there are endless possibilities for our futures.”
Congratulations to the very first graduates of the Youth Leadership Academy! Applications for next year’s cohort are accepted through June 5.
