A group of students from Bishop O’Connell recently attended the 2015 VMI Leadership Conference, hosted by the Center for Leadership and Ethics at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. O’Connell’s Christian service coordinator, Ms. Kathryn Hogan, and English teacher, Mr. John Meehan, accompanied the students of this trip.
The conference focused on motivating and inspiring other to the call of humanitarian public service. The opening speaker, E. Scott Geller, Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Behavior Systems at Virginia Tech, set the stage for the next two days. His presentation was entitled, “Seven Life Lessons from Psychological Science: How to Bring out the Best in Yourself and Others.”
It was an especially memorable conference as the attendees were on hand as the 2015 Jonathan Daniels Humanitarian Award was presented to Rep. John Lewis (Ga.). Congressman Lewis, was a key leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee, leading the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. He has continued to dedicate his life of public service to protecting human rights and securing civil liberties.
"Being a leader isn’t about the title,” said Lily Saunders. “It’s about helping others and making a difference with your peers.”
Pictured (l to r): Sierra Moore, Rickie Miller, Colleen McGinn, Lily Saunders, Alexis Fernandez, Ellie Ward, Andrew Oudkirk, and Madison Wilson.