YOUTH LEADERSHIP KEARNEY, CLASS #31 FEBRUARY SESSION

Written by YLK Class #31 member Lauren Nore

The Youth Leadership of Kearney Class of 31 kicked off their first session on Tuesday, February 25 at the University of Nebraska Kearney. They showed up dressed in business attire, ready for a full schedule ahead.

The class began the day with a Career Exploration presentation given by Emily Beaman, the Assistant Director of Career Development at UNK. Emily encouraged the group to think about their futures and explore different ways to research and discover potential career paths.

Afterward, Brenda Jochum, a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach, delivered the next presentation. The class individually took the Clifton Strengths Assessment prior to the session and were given reports of their top strengths. Brenda explained how Clifton Strengths can be a valuable asset by sharing real-life examples of how these strengths are applied. She explained how these strengths can be used in group settings and emphasized the importance of understanding them to gain deeper self-understanding. Her presentation highlighted the benefits of leveraging individual strengths to drive personal growth and improve team dynamics.

During the presentation, the group engaged in interactive activities designed to help individuals see their personal strengths being used while also building stronger connections with one another. Brenda also pointed out how the Clifton Strengths can be utilized to help in the planning process and success of the group’s community service project.

Later, UNK Director of Marketing, Kyle Means, talked about the importance of public speaking and connections. He began the presentation by giving out UNK gear, which he later explained is a way to engage the audience when presenting. Kyle also shared valuable public speaking tools and discussed common habits to avoid in order to improve effectiveness and engagement with the audience. To conclude, he explained how building connections played a key role in his career success and emphasized the importance of developing relationships now for a successful future.

To finish out the day, YLK 31 then walked over to the UNK Spirit Store for some complimentary gear. The session concluded with a group brainstorming session for the upcoming summer service project, followed by writing thank-you cards and playing an icebreaker question game.