Mount Gilead High School took 24 student-athletes, along with track and cross country coach, Lauren Huelsman, to The Ohio State University for the OHSAA Leadership Conference on Oct. 3. The conference is the largest student-leadership conference in the country.

The messages heard at the conference will last the selected leaders a life time. From the words of wisdom from Matt Barnes, who began his broadcasting career with NBC4 in 2007 as an intern, to Adrienne Rosel Bulinski (former Miss Kansas), each speaker gave a little bit of advice to advance each student-athlete in life and athletics to bring back to their perspective academic and athletic settings. Each speaker had a different interpretation of what it takes to be a leader. Other speakers at this year’s conference were Harvey Alston, Omari Pearson, and Hoan Do.

Students spent the morning listening to the experienced speakers. These speakers told the students that if you’re going to make a change in your life or your team you need to have a plan and have determination for it to change.

Barnes talked about leadership style and how not all styles will work for different situations. Alston, who has been a motivational speaker since 1989, told the students that even though you may have your ups and downs, you should still continue to have fight in you to keep moving forward. Pearson (former NBA) told the students that a difference between a fantasy and a dream is that a dream has a plan. He told the students that they should have a plan for what college they want to go into and that there is more academic scholarships out there than athletic.

Bulinski told the students a heart wrenching story about how she had made it to the close top of her Broadway dancing career only to be put at the bottom of it by being bucked off a horse severing her ankle making her goal just to walk without a limp, telling them to be dedicated a persistent and you can reach your goal! Do (competitor on American Ninja Warrior) spoke about when life gets you down you can control the situation by how you react and how you feel. He told the students how to have a positive attitude and that your mistakes don’t define who you are.

These speakers gave the students a lifetime of lessons to take back to the community and their teams helping them be better people overall.

Courtesy Photo
Mount Gilead student-athletes attending a recent OHSAA Leadership Conference were Cassandra Snopik, Gavin Robinson, Kaitlynn Pfeifer, Liam Dennis, Samantha Sullivan, Emily Hanft, Ethan Supplee, Ryan Gaines, Jackson Huffer, Hailey Dean, Olivia Millisor, Maddison Mathwig, Kyle White, Allison Johnson, Makenzie Bump, Micah Tuggle, Crystal Bays, Riley Conners, Jenilee Morgan, Emily Randall, Nick McKinney, Ariah Hull and Garrett Casto.
http://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2017/10/web1_2017-OHSAA-Leadership-Conference.jpgCourtesy Photo
Mount Gilead student-athletes attending a recent OHSAA Leadership Conference were Cassandra Snopik, Gavin Robinson, Kaitlynn Pfeifer, Liam Dennis, Samantha Sullivan, Emily Hanft, Ethan Supplee, Ryan Gaines, Jackson Huffer, Hailey Dean, Olivia Millisor, Maddison Mathwig, Kyle White, Allison Johnson, Makenzie Bump, Micah Tuggle, Crystal Bays, Riley Conners, Jenilee Morgan, Emily Randall, Nick McKinney, Ariah Hull and Garrett Casto.

Submitted by Emily Randall.