Summer Academy - Blogging it in

Greetings friends and family, and welcome to the Leader's Challenge blog! Chances are, you've stopped by to check out what your son, daughter, sibling or best friend is up to here at the IGNITE Summer Academy. Well...we're here to tell you!

This is the first time we've attempted this live blogging business, and we hope you'll keep checking in over the next three and a half days to see how it progresses.

The Leader's Challenge staff and volunteers arrived at the Colorado School of Mines at 7am sharp, ready to meet and greet 134 students from 30 high schools along the Front Range. Before long, a line had formed and we were ready to roll.


Having already done this once before - At our first Summer Academy back in July - we knew where the bottlenecks were likely to happen, and tried our hardest to keep the line moving without skimping on the information.


After a quick welcome session, the parents split and the fun began! Each of our five color groups - Red, Yellow, Blue, Green and Purple - spent the morning getting to know one another and laying the groundwork for what may ultimately become lifelong friendships.

Here at Leader's Challenge, we've got a lot of tricks up our sleeves designed to get teenagers up and moving, and more importantly - talking. There were of course the obligatory ice breakers where students had the opportunity to meet one another and at least try to get everyone's names straight.


Given that IGNITE is a yearlong program that is decidedly team-centered, it's more likely than not that there are going to be some problems along the way. These may be interpersonal or logistical, but one thing they all have in common is that they can be resolved through strategic planning and proactive communication. And what better way to flex your problem solving skills than through some good old fashioned practice via The River of Fire!!!


Often times, when one strategy proves to be flawed, you need to reformulate and come up with a different plan.


In just a few short hours, the students came to know one another quite well and and by noon they were ready for some grub.



Staff members need to eat too!


After lunch, we headed out to hear from our first speaker: Annabel Day from Executive Social Presentations. Mrs. Day introduced the students to the foundations of professional etiquette, which will surely come in handy as they make their way through not only IGNITE, but the rest of their lives.

That's all for now, folks! Check back later this evening for a rundown of our afternoon events and more pictures of our students enjoying themselves!