Gibraltar Students Take Part in Leadership Event at Lambeau Field

 Running out of the tunnel at the home of the Green Bay Packers was awesome, but what really stood out for a group of Gibraltar Middle School students on Thursday was the leadership and camaraderie they experienced.

Gibraltar students Mylo, Maggie, James, Miles, Olive, Luke, Ashlyn, and Rocket were all part of the Green Bay Packers Empower Leadership Event at Lambeau Field and the nearby Resch Expo. These students, chosen for their involvement in school leadership groups and identified as leaders by staff members, joined dozens of other students for the event.

The day kicked off with a heartfelt keynote address from Orlando Bowen, the Executive Director of One Voice One Team Youth Leadership Organization. Bowen used storytelling, fitness activities, and cognitive exercises to teach resilience, leadership, and teamwork. Ashlyn shared, "The first speech was really touching and inspiring. Hearing Orlando Bowen’s life story made me feel sad for everything he went through, and it reminded me that you never really know what someone is going through." Olive added that Bowen emphasized the importance of believing in oneself and the idea that empathy is more powerful than kindness.

After touring Lambeau Field, the students headed back to the Resch Expo for a service project. They packed over 48,000 food packs for the Rise Against Hunger organization, providing essential meals for more than 200 children throughout the school year. School counselors Chelsea Roberts and Brooke Petrie noted that some students found the service activity even more enjoyable than the Lambeau Field tour. They emphasized that this reflected the students' strong desire to help others and aligned with the event's theme of fostering a "we mentality" rather than an "us versus them mentality."

Miles and James were impressed by the impact they could make in just a few minutes, while Maggie highlighted the fun aspect of the service project, stating, "They made it fun, and it helped a lot of people who don’t have enough food."

For Roberts and Petrie, the service project was the standout moment of the day. They mentioned, "This was an important event because it allowed us to provide a unique experience for a few young leaders. These events helped encourage and inspire them to continue being strong leaders, giving them more tools and strategies to use their gift of leadership in our own community and create a positive impact on others in our community and the world."