Amelia Sauls said. 

     The locations of the sessions vary, as the members of the program are learning new topics at each session.

     “You basically go to all these places throughout Greenville and there will be speakers that are invited, and they are the ones who present activities and presentations to us,” junior Virginia Blount said. 

     The program involves many activities such as helping the members create better leadership skills, while at the same time serving the community.

     “We got to go to Third Street Academy, and we got to interact with the kindergarteners and first graders,” Blount said. “We all got separated, but my activity specifically was to help the kids make ice cream, so that was really fun.”

     Members of the program wanted to apply for this opportunity to better serve their community.

     “I thought it would be important for me to do this because it would help my community, and I could learn how to take on a more leadership role at my school and use it for the rest of my life,” Sauls said.

     The members are continuously learning new skills at each session by being introduced to new concepts.

     “They help us become leaders by having different sessions, like public speaking, and different ways we can help the community and different job opportunities and job interview practices,” Sauls said. 

     The program has positively influenced its members in a variety of ways.

     “It’s already impacted me a lot because I’ve already gotten more comfortable with public speaking [and] my interview skills, and it's really improved my social development skills,” Blount said. 

     Throughout the year, each group partners with a non-profit organization. The groups are formed by the school each member attends. 

     “Our project right now that we are working on is helping with the Youth of the Year, which is a program at the Boys & Girls Club,” Sauls said. 

     Rose’s group has progressed through their project by meeting with their team at each session and outside of school. At the end of the program, the groups will be finalized with the projects that they have worked on throughout the year.

     “In May, which is our last session, we have to present to our parents and everyone [in] the program as our final accomplishment, and then we graduate [from the program],” Blount said. 

     The Teen Leadership Institute has served many beneficial purposes to Rose students. 

     “It is helping really shape me on how to become a leader and how to really care about my community and not be caught up in my own bubble,” Sauls said. 

     The program has helped make many students feel more comfortable with meeting new people. 

      “Personally, I think my biggest accomplishment has been kind of stepping out of my comfort zone because I’m not the type of person to be super social with a group of people that I’m not familiar with,” Blount said.

     By continuously meeting each month with the same group of people and participating in sessions, members have had a growing experience. 

     “I’m more expressive with my ideas now and that's because I’m learning how to help my team instead of staying quiet,” Sauls said. “I’m kind of breaking out of my shell.”