Georgia

Department of Labor

NEWS RELEASE

SUITE 642



(404) 232-3685

148 INTERNATIONAL BOULEVARD, N.E.



ATLANTA, GA 30303-1751



FAX (404) 657-9996 Communications@dol.state.ga.us

Michael Thurmond
Commissioner

Sam Hall
Director of Communications

May 28, 2008..........................................................FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

High School/High Tech Youth Leadership Forum to be held in Americus

ATLANTA State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said today that 35 outstanding high school juniors and seniors from 12 high schools have been selected to attend the Georgia High School/High Tech (HS/HT) Youth Leadership Forum in Sumter County.

HS/HT is a community-based transition and enrichment initiative for high school students with disabilities designed to develop post-secondary opportunities in math, science, and computer technology career fields in their respective schools.
Entitled "Dare to Soar 2008," the forum will be held Saturday through Tuesday, June 7-10, on the campus of Georgia Southwestern University in Americus.

Students who will attend the forum include: Mary McDade, James Stephens and Ashley Van Clief from Baldwin County High School; Eric Embry from Colquitt County High School; Amber Ellison and Cashay Mason from Cross Creek High School in Richmond County; Ryan Brantley from Greenbrier High School in Columbia County; Keith Thomas from Glenn Hills High School in Richmond County; Justin Williams from Hephzibah Comprehensive High School; Jeremy Thomas from Hutchings Career Center, a nontraditional magnet school in Macon; Justin Grier from Shiloh High School in Lilburn; Allan Gurrola and Jose Moreno from South Atlanta High School; Kearia Gilbert, Crissa Hillmon, and Sasha James from Turner County High School; Thomas Chapman, Michele DeVoe, Skyler Evans, Daisha Franklin, Henry Harris, III, Jake Jackson, Amanda Kelley, DiJon Kendricks, Daphney Lawrence, Jessica Phillips, Lashawna Powell, Ryan Odom, Shelby Rawlins, Harry Spruill, Anthony Wade, Jasmine Wiggins, Lucretia Wilson and Allison Yon from Westover High School in Albany; and Adam Lutes from Westside High School in Augusta.

"These student delegates are outstanding high school juniors and seniors who have demonstrated leadership capabilities in their communities and schools," said Commissioner Thurmond. "We're pleased they're participating in the High School/High Tech program. The program is an important part of the Georgia Department of Labor's continuing efforts to help students with disabilities cultivate leadership, citizenship, and social skills and become an integral part of our state's world-class workforce."
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The goal of the forum is to provide delegates with leadership skills and career information that will enhance their personal and professional lives. It does this with small "working groups" that explore personal leadership and career plans throughout the training. The emphasis of the forum is leadership by example. Adults who have traveled the same path these young people are facing act as faculty and staff, and serve as role models in helping delegates realize their ability, right, and obligation to pursue meaningful employment and contribute to society.
Wayne Akins, director of the Student Disability Resource Center at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro and chair of Youth Leadership Forum Dare to Soar 2008, said: "It is critical that young people learn to identify themselves with pride. By providing a framework of history and an atmosphere of encouragement, the forum offers peers with common challenges and experiences the opportunity to learn from one another."
The forum is an initiative of the Georgia Department of Labor/Vocational Rehabilitation Program and the Georgia Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. It is provided at no cost to participants. Funding and in-kind services are made possible by the Georgia Department of Labor/VR Program, the Coca-Cola Company, the Georgia Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, and Georgia High School/High Tech.
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