Buffalo County students develop leadership skills at UNK conference

KEARNEY, Neb. (KSNB) – High school students from across Buffalo County gained valuable leadership skills during the third annual Power of Change Youth Conference at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

Students from 14 schools participated in the event on Wednesday, which focused on developing leadership abilities and providing resources for mental wellness and community engagement.

Keynote speaker Jason Levasseur, a musician who has shared the stage with famous artists, such as Maroon 5 and Dave Matthews Band, used music as a teaching tool to help students understand leadership concepts.

“The language that I use is about celebrating the individual instruments people bring to their bands, but that’s anybody’s personality that they bring to their unique friend group,” Levasseur said.

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Building resilience and wellness

Beyond leadership development, the conference addressed critical issues facing today’s youth, including mental wellness, resilience, school culture and avoiding burnout.

Ellery Butterfield, program manager for Buffalo County Community Partners and one of the event organizers, said a concern students have today with mental wellness is that they don’t feel they have a trusted adult to talk to.

“In addition to providing them with those trusted healthy relationships with peers and trusted adults, we’re also giving them resources just to reach out if they are experiencing possibly a crisis or just something they’re struggling with,” Butterfield said.

The conference featured resource booths to connect students with support services and tools they can access when facing challenges.

Empowering student leaders

Levasseur hopes students leave the conference with increased confidence in public engagement and community involvement.

“I want them to feel confident about just taking that chance and being comfortable with the discomfort and in a nutshell, their ability to step up into their new roles is like a prized possession of theirs,” he said.

Butterfield emphasized the ultimate goal of empowering students to recognize their potential for creating positive change.

“The goal for the day is that all of the students will walk out of here and feel like they have the resources, tools and support that they need to be the change in their communities,” she said.

The event was organized by Buffalo County high school students with the mission of inspiring their peers to become the change in their communities. The event is presented by Buffalo County Community Partners, Crane River Theater, Region 3 Behavioral Health Services and the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

For more information on resources for both kids and adults about problems facing youth, visit out the Buffalo County Community Partners website.

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