Early this week, six BMU high school students (Jordan Alley, Karli Blood, Kason Blood, Richard Fennimore, Shitao Huang, and Kaydence Mckean) embarked on a journey to the Vermont Athletic Leadership Conference in Burlington, Vermont. Students arrived at the Doubletree Conference Center on Monday, November 7th. Students entered the Emerald Ballroom and joined other student-athletes from across the state. They started out the day by introducing one another and participating in group icebreakers.

Throughout the first day of the conference, students learned many life skills and participated in various activities organized by fellow student-athletes. They had the privilege of having guest speaker, Tabitha Moore, share her story of leadership and conduct a group discussion. In addition, students were dinner guests at the Scholar Athlete Award Banquet. The night ended with a corn hole tournament, a dance, and a hypnotist show put on by Marco the Magician.

Tuesday morning, students gathered once again in the Emerald Ballroom to have breakfast. Students then returned to their school groups and began planning for an Athletic Council in their own schools. The conference concluded with Ed Gerety, an inspirational speaker from New Hampshire. He engaged the audience with a message of gratitude and the importance of reaching out to loved ones. Kason Blood, a BMU 10th grade attendee explained, “After hearing Ed speak, I feel like a new man.”

Students went home with new knowledge about student voice, leadership skills, and how to manage the stress of being a student-athlete. These selected students will not only use what they learned for themselves but will be able to convey their knowledge to their peers at Blue Mountain Union School.