Brandon Twp.- To learn how to be a leader, Brandon Middle School student Keith Cordner went to a city filled with them.
Cordner attended the 2005 Jr. National Leadership Conference from June 25-July 4 in Washington, DC after being nominated by BMS science teacher Dave Green for showing good leadership in class. The purpose of the conference, the 13-year-old eighth grader says, is to get kids more aware of U.S. history and to develop leadership traits.
‘I wanted to go because I thought it’d be fun and I’d have 10 days to myself, make friends, and learn leadership skills,? said Cordner. ‘I thought it was something I could learn a lot from.?
He did. During the trip, Cordner and about 500 other kids (including about 10 from Michigan) were taught respect, leadership, courage, caring, trust and responsibility. They also visited all the monuments in the city and learned about historical events, including the settling of the United States, the War of 1812, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Vietnam War, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis and the Civil Rights Movement.
‘I made a lot of friends,? Cordner said. ‘I learned a lot of things, including how to make sure shy people speak up, how to make sure everyone is happy, respected and works together. I learned about the human characteristics of war.?
He is grateful to the individuals, businesses and organizations in the local community who made his trip possible. Without them, he says, he could not have gone.
Cordner is not interested in politics and not sure what he wants to be in the future, but he has a general idea– something good, something productive.
‘I want to make a change in the world,? he says.