All 18 teenagers who participated in the 2008 Kernersville Rotary Club Youth Leadership Academy voted that eating lunch at the Forsyth County Jail was the worst experience of their week.
Even the skeptics, though, said they found the academy worthwhile.
"I didn't think it would really be fun. Honestly, I came for what it would do for my college application," said Erica Barber, a student at Glenn High School.
Instead, Barber said, she was surprised to discover that the weeklong academy not only proved to be fun but also educated her about her community.
For 12 years, the Kernersville Rotary Club has sponsored the youth leadership academy. The idea came out of a desire to send more than two students to the similarly structured district conference for youths, which is held in Greensboro.
"We realized that there were more than two students in our area that would benefit from the experience," said Arnold King, a club member and organizer of the academy. "So we started our own."
They modeled it after the Leadership Kernersville program sponsored by the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce for adults.
Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors are selected each spring by guidance counselors and principals at East Forsyth and Glenn high schools. East Principal Patricia Gainey and Glenn Principal Adolphus Coplin are both members of the Kernersville Rotary Club. About 50 volunteers gave time during the week for the academy.
This year, 11 East and seven Glenn students participated. They wore business casual clothing and met each day at Forsyth Technical Community College's Swisher Center. On the first day, the students took a Myers-Briggs personality test, which pointed out their leadership styles and traits. After that, the students toured historical sites in Kernersville.
They visited the Old Piney Grove Schoolhouse at Fourth of July Park before traveling to Körner's Folly, where they had lunch and listened to a history lesson by Town Attorney John Wolfe. Wolfe is a descendant of Jules Körner, the original builder and owner of the Folly. After a scavenger hunt, the students visited the historic Stafford House on Main Street before learning about historic downtown properties from Kernersville Downtown Preservation & Development Council Director Kim King.
"I have driven by the Folly a million times and wanted to go in and never had. That was something I have always wanted to do," said Sean Lindsey, a Glenn High School rising sophomore.
Tuesday's theme was education. The group met with other students and area college officials and participated in a panel discussion with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education members Jill Tackaberry, Jeannie Metcalf, Geneva Brown and Marilyn Parker.
On Wednesday, the students studied area law enforcement, with Chief Neal Stockton giving a tour of the Kernersville Police Department, followed by a visit to the Forsyth County Jail and a discussion with Forsyth Chief District Judge William Reingold.
Various town officials visited the students at the Swisher Center on Thursday as they studied the way Kernersville operates as well as the way development has affected Kernersville's growth.
"Thursday gave me a broader aspect of all Kernersville goes through. It made me appreciate our government and changed my perception about our town," said Paul Itterly, a rising senior at East Forsyth.
On Friday the academy wrapped up its week with a study on leadership and a graduation for the students.
"This was a fun week. I learned a lot about Kernersville and its historical value," said Caroline Jones, a rising sophomore at Glenn.
■ Monica Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com.
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