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***image1***American and European high school students from across Europe gathered on the banks of the Rhein March 7 to 11 to study leadership skills in group building, consensus seeking, negotiations, advocacy and coalition building. The 24th annual International Student Leadership Institute featured 150 students, 75 Americans from 26 Department of Defense Dependent Schools, and 75 European students, with 20 teachers.
“In five 12- to 16-hour days, these students got to know themselves and each other thoroughly,” said Terry Arbuckle, Ramstein American High School psychologist and institute facilitator. “We push them really hard, but they come out changed for the better, and having made lasting international friendships.”
“At first, everyone only hung out with other people from their school,” said RAHS junior Glynnis Holloman, “but by the end, we were all hanging out with people from countries we’d never even heard of – like Estonia. It was an awesome experience.”
All participating students must have a working knowledge of English. Upon arrival to the ISLI, all students are divided into color-named groups of 15 members, with no other student from their own school, and a mixture of Americans and Europeans.
The students listen to lectures by teachers and student regents – elected the previous year – on various aspects of leadership and current topics, such as the influence of mass markets and advertising. Then, with their teacher facilitator, they break into their groups to form a consensus, and present a three-minute skit to represent it.
“They have very limited time,” said Dr. Arbuckle. “The pressure is on. Some students take a few days to learn to speak up, and some take a few days to learn to listen.”
Cybil Martin, RAHS sophomore, learned that “there’s not just one type of best leader; each person can only make the type of leader that they already are.”
Students applied for ISLI through their high school counselors, and had to include three teacher recommendations. Counselors rated the applications based on scores the teachers gave in various social and academic skills.
“It looks really good on your college resume,” said sophomore Lisa Lehman.
Other KMC students attending ISLI were, from RAHS freshmen Rachel Taylor and Stacey Webb, sophomore Richard Culbreath, and juniors Amanda Arceneaux and Chris Kieta; from Kaiserslautern American High School sophomores David Greene, Stephanie Colache and Aaron Brown, and juniors Greg Persley and Bianca Gerena-Perez.
