Auburn University students have the opportunity to help high school students in a two-day conference about leadership. Students have to go through an application and interview process before they are chosen to be a counselor for the High School Leadership Conference.

“High School Leadership Conference is a two-day conference in which high school juniors and seniors from the Southeast come to Auburn University,” said Margaret Kloess, director of HSLC. “The conference is led by 50 student counselors and the event is based on a leadership curriculum called Habitudes, which is the art of self leadership.”

There are no real requirements to be a counselor for the program, but applicants must have a Dean’s verification to apply. Students are encouraged to fill out an application and come prepared for the interview, which is highly important. When selecting counselors, the program looks for students with strong leadership skills and the willingness to work hard.

Applications become available Oct. 1 and are due by Oct. 10. Interviews and call-outs are the following week. All applications that get turned in have the opportunity to get interviewed.

“During the interview process, questions are focused on the conference, situations that could arise during the conference and what leadership the applicants have done in the past,” said Kloess.

Once a student is accepted into the program, they begin training immediately. Training will be every Tuesday for one hour and 30 minutes. The conference isn’t until Jan. 29 and 30, 2009, so training is very important.

“During training, counselors go over the curriculum Habitudes, they get to know other counselors and a speaker is going to give a presentation about Auburn University,” said Kloess. “The main part of training is learning how to be prepared to sell Auburn.”

During the conference, two counselors co-counsel 10 to 15 high school students in a group. Three of the 13 lessons from Habitudes will be taught and a speaker from the program will give a presentation. Every student gets a book from the Habitudes program.

“The conference is basically a recruitment tour for incoming students,” said Kloess. “It is a way for Auburn to show off its campus and its leaders.”

There are invitations sent out to 250 high schools in the Southeast and each high school can invite up to six students to attend the conference. The students are usually accompanied by a guidance counselor and not all the high schools send students to the conference.


“As director, I do a lot of the behind the scenes work such as formulating letters, making reservations and sending out invitations,” said Kloess. “I also have three assistants, whose talents are recognized and then given jobs accordingly. They help out with the budget, entertainment, food and the program.”

In the future, the High School Leadership Program is trying to start a mentor program at the schools where students have attended the conference. The mentor program could be facilitated by students or by a guidance counselor. The program would continue teaching students what they learned at the conference and will give other students an opportunity to get involved.



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