Seventeen rising juniors from five local high schools graduated from the inaugural Unum Leadership Academy this week, each earning a $1,000 scholarship.
The students from Brainerd High School, Red Bank High School, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, and Center for Creative Arts participated in day-long workshops throughout June on Unum’s campus.
The students were selected by their school counselors because of their strong character and leadership qualities.
The program was designed to help students develop leadership skills and stronger soft skills, including writing resumes, giving interviews and making positive first impressions.
Throughout the program the students also went through Design Thinking courses in which they came up with solutions to the complex problems around education and job readiness in Hamilton County.
Michael Weiss, an Innovation Champion at Unum, coached the students and was impressed with the amount of effort they put into their solutions.
“The students seemed to readily grasp the core concepts that you design solutions to meet people’s needs, and in order to do that you have to truly know them,” Mr.
Weiss said. “They researched data and interviewed people and as a result came up with some very creative solutions that were presented to a leadership panel.”
The winning presentation, titled Chatt-ALLready, focused on Chattanooga’s investment in bringing better jobs to the community. The students recommended a solution that would help high school students achieve job readiness by taking courses taught by business and community partners that provide the necessary credentials to obtain these jobs.
The Unum Leadership Academy fits in with the company’s primary charitable focus on supporting public education initiatives that provide more opportunity for students to learn.
Jeana Lee, community relations specialist at Unum, said the company created the program for rising juniors so there would be additional opportunities to help them prepare for the future.
“We envision this program as a stepping stone for students to get additional support from Unum before graduating high school,” she said. “We’re exploring other ways to help prepare Leadership Academy graduates for the next chapter in life, like taking them on shopping trips for professional attire, sponsoring visits to colleges and connecting them to mentors within Unum.”
For more information about the Unum Leadership Academy and to learn how students from your school can participate, contact Jeana Lee at jlee5@unum.com.
2016 Unum Leadership Academy graduates:
Shikhar Baheti, Red Bank High School
Brian Lobo, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences
Truely Cervenak, Red Bank High School
Amari Ware, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences
Lacara Bell, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy
Izak Sullivan, Red Bank High School
Alicia Howard, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences
Grace Brown, Red Bank High School
Wendy Reynoso, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy
Frida Uwimana, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy
Kay Howell, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy
Reba Rachel John, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences
Justin Davis, Brainerd High School
Lexis Parks, Brainerd High School
Dakota Reed, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy
Emma Akins, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy
Nyjaquan Reddick, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences