Photos by Rome City Schools
Even though the 2018-2019 school year has just begun, that hasn’t stopped several Rome High School students from working hard to make this year the best one yet.
After completing the comprehensive application process, seven of these outstanding students at Rome High were selected to participate in the High School Leadership Rome program presented by the Rome-Floyd Chamber. The students selected were Aaron Bartleson, Nathaniel Fisher, Claire Fortenberry, Abby Murphy, Abigail Payne, Magda Reyes and Annalise Uldrick.
High School Leadership Rome (HSLR) is an eight-month leadership training program for rising high school sophomores and juniors who demonstrate superior leadership qualities. HSLR gives students the opportunity to meet and learn from local businesses and community leaders through tours, visits, interactive presentations and more.
Some of the fields students will be exploring are communication and media, economic development and impacts, education, healthcare and wellness, innovation, public safety and local government, servant leadership, transportation and more.
Throughout the semester-long program, students discover a diverse range of career opportunities available in Rome and Floyd County while building comradery with students from other participating schools, which is a great opportunity to show and encourage students not to look past Rome as a permanent residence once they graduate high school or college.
“I got to see things and get the inside experience of places a lot of other Romans, even adults, don’t have to opportunity to see,” explained Katherine Maslanka, a previous graduate of the Leadership Rome Program.
Applications were made available to all Rome High students, and out of around 100 applicants, only 20 are selected to participate in the program.
Eleventh grade student, Aaron Bartleson, was very excited to hear about his selection to the program.
“I think it is a really cool chance for me to integrate with my peers and talk with people who share my interest with the Rome and Floyd County community. I am just excited for all of the opportunities we receive with Leadership Rome,” smiled Bartleson.
School Counselor’s Melissa Holland and Twilya Toombs are very proud of these students’ accomplishments and wish them luck throughout the semester.
