Early this June, five Chief Leschi students – Wynonna Swift, Katarina Johnson, Leeann Martinez, Redmorning Eagle Peters and Patricia Gonzalez-Montanez – attended the second annual Bureau of Indian Education Summer Youth Leadership Challenge at Haskell Indian Nations University, in Lawrence, Kansas. The conference had daily themes. One day was about “Empowerment” and finding one’s inner strength, another was “Competitive Intelligence” which is looking for opportunities and identifying risk. “Wellness” was another that focused on positive health in mind and body. The last theme was “Achieving the Dream.”
The day themed “Achieving the Dream,” students attended a workshop with Miss Indian World, Dakota Brant; comedian, Mylo Redwater-Smith; and actor and writer, Steven Judd. The workshop was entitled “My Road to Success” where students were encouraged to follow their dreams despite what others might say. That same day Billy Mills spoke to the students about perceptions. The idea of perception was the differences of how others perceive you and how you perceive yourself. He encouraged the student to look deep into themselves and decide their own perception. Students were further honored with the attendance and workshop by Chaske Spencer from “Twilight New Moon.” Students shared that they look forward to coming back next year.
