The rich sense of community was evident at the 7^th Grade Leadership Conference hosted by Joliet Catholic Academy recently.

JCA’s Leadership Conference is specifically designed for seventh graders as they prepare for their roles as leaders of their grade schools and ultimately their high school class.

Several hundred seventh graders representing 13 schools attended the conference.

Nearly 80 Angels and Hilltoppers volunteered to assist with the event demonstrating their enthusiasm and pride in serving their school and community.

The conference opened with a welcome by Joe Gura, Assistant Director of Admissions, followed by prayer led by campus minister Sr. Barb Kwiatkowski, OSF.

For the first exercise, participants were assigned to small groups which were comprised of students from several schools. Small group discussions and activities followed highlighting the qualities of a leader and examining good versus evil.

The attendees were then treated to a vocal performance by the Joliet Catholic Academy Tapestry before breaking for a quick snack.

Upon returning to their groups, participants completed the next exercise titled Leadership in Me.

Former University of St. Francis men’s basketball coach and leadership blog author, Pat Sullivan was up next as the guest speaker. Sullivan captured the attention of everyone present with his talk on the attitude of a leader.

The final conference exercise included a discussion on the one individual thing attendees could do to foster leadership which included the participants writing a letter to their self.

JCA’s 7^th Grade Leadership Conference takes place annually. For more information, contact the Admissions Office at 815.741.0500 or admissions@jca-online.org.

To view Sullivan’s leadership blog, visit: http://leadersattitude.com/home-2/about-pat/.