Fort Bend ISD juniors selected for Student Leadership Program

The Student Leadership Program has selected 24 Fort Bend Independent School District juniors.

Now in its fifth year, the students, which represent all 11 Fort Bend ISD high schools, will take part in monthly sessions to help build awareness, understanding and appreciation of leadership roles in the community, according to a press release.

The 2012-13 Junior Student Leadership Cohort includes Mary Abella (Austin), Erin Breaux (Hightower), Reina Chang (Dulles), Anthony Espinal (Hightower), Danielle Fournier (Kempner), Katherine Goss (Ridge Point), Ashley Gough (Kempner), Justine Hall (Travis), Prerna Kamnani (Elkins), Helen Li (Travis), Hilario Lumbreras (Austin), Jasmine Medina (Willowridge), Jonathan Mohammad (Hightower), Carolyn Nguyen (Bush), Emmanuel Nnali (Bush), Caleb Pete (Marshall), Natasha Pirani (Marshall), Cody Price (Bush), Christi Reynolds (Austin), Ruhika Roy (Elkins), Conner Smith (Dulles), Sanjana Srikanth (Clements), Kaylan Whitaker (Willowridge) and Natalie Wolf (Clements).

Recently, the students completed session one, according to a press release. During the session, the students got acquainted with each other by taking part in various activities that helped them identify types of leadership skills. Their main challenge of the day was to learn the names of all participants in the group, which for most proved to be a challenging task.

"We have a great group of students taking part in the program," said Fort Bend ISD Board Member Jenny Bailey in a press release. "Throughout the year, they will have the opportunity to explore various leadership roles within our community  whether in the judicial system, business or medical industries and gain a better understanding of what it takes to run a community and provide services to citizens."

According to a press release, the students will work from Tom Rath's book, Strengths Finder 2.0, throughout the school year. They will also take part in monthly field trips to meet with community and business leaders to explore their roles in volunteerism and service, local government and business professions, the judicial system and the medical field.

The December session will focus on Leadership in the Community — Volunteerism.

"I'm really excited about the program and the experience that it will bring," said Dulles High School junior Reina Chang in a press release. "I'm especially interested in learning of ways I can give back to our community through volunteering. That's one reason I decided to apply for the program."