Mary Santiago, professional development specialist, facilitated an interactive workshop on “The Qualities of Leadership” at the Mayor’s Middle School Leadership Conference on Saturday, February 10. She led the students in a series of improvisational theatre techniques designed to enhance their creativity, decision-making and leadership competencies. This annual leadership conference is sponsored by Burlington Day School and hosted by Headmaster Alan Gibby. The 7th and 8th graders represented eleven public and private schools in Alamance County.
Burlington Mayor Steve Ross, a 1973 Elon graduate, presented the students with a problem for them to solve by the end of the conference in three separate teams. The conference ended with group reports and skits produced by the participants. A panel of local officials gave the students feedback on their proposals of how to solve the problem of integrating college students housed in residential neighborhoods. The panel included Davis Montgomery, alderman for the Town of Elon; Steve Van Pelt, member of the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education; Ann Vaughan, member of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners; and Mac Williams, President of Alamance County Area Chamber of Commerce.