Three Hannibal-LaGrange students recently participated in a statewide leadership forum. Courtney Bayer, Andrew Khoury, and Brandon White attended the Missouri Governor’s Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values in Jefferson City, Missouri, on February 16th-18th. Their attendance was made possible through funding from a grant through the Moorman Foundation.
The Missouri Governor’s Student Leadership Forum encourages students to be better individuals as well as leaders by challenging their decision-making, values and belief systems using the platform of servant leadership. The students heard from several speakers including Missouri Governor Mike Parson, Missouri Senator Travis Fitzwater, and nationally recognized leader Rebecca Welsh, founder of HALO, a non-profit organization that supports homeless and at-risk children. Other speakers included Judge Pat Joyce, non-profit leaders and an international leadership panel of recent college graduates. Students visited the Capitol and toured the Jefferson City Correctional Center where they learned about the many available rehabilitation programs.
Bayer stated, “One major takeaway from the conference was how great leaders must be vulnerable and intentional in their relationships with others.”
Bayer also reported how much she enjoyed the small group aspect of the conference. She was able to get to know a lot of other women in Missouri and hear their personal stories. White said that attendees had an opportunity to share their faith in the small group discussions following speakers.
Dr. Eric Turner, Director of the Free Society Programming at HLGU, said, “We are grateful that our HLGU students were invited to the Governor’s Leadership Forum on Faith and Values. Our campus believes that leadership is shaped and formed through the lens of biblical worldview. Each of these students returned from the forum encouraged, challenged, and convicted about how to apply their faith to their future positions of leadership. It is opportunities such as this one that shows our commitment to our core value of providing education that impacts the next generation.”