Changing Our Future
Program applicants are high school sophomores from the Flathead Valley who are selected based on their interests and involvement in areas such as leadership and service. If accepted, students participate from September through May of their junior year.
With only 30 spots available annually, the Leaders of Tomorrow program is an extremely select group of promising students who are highly motivated and want to sharpen their leadership skills, as well as learn what makes their community tick.
This program is held one to two Wednesday afternoons per month to allow students to participate in leadership sessions which include tours, panels, and demonstrations in areas such as the methodology behind "Gracious Space" concepts, communication styles, depolarization, networking, interpersonal skills, self management, gratitude, critical thinking, financial literacy and small business.
Mission Statement
Leaders of Tomorrow is committed to developing tomorrow’s leaders today.
Objectives
To provide a community based learning experience that informs, motivates and develops selected high school juniors, through seminars and interaction with community decision-makers.
Oversight
The Leaders of Tomorrow Advisory Council serves as the Program’s decision-making body. This Council is one of the sub committees of the NW United Way.
Application Process For Sophomores For Their Junior Year
If you're currently a Sophomore in High School, and you want to sharpen your leadership skills by learning more about your community and the four pillars of Gracious Space, you could be one of 30 High School students valley wide that will be selected to participate in the program.
Selection Will Be Based On:
- Your Interests & Involvement
- Your Interest In Leadership
- Your Interest In Service
Students selected for the program will be attending monthly half day long events where you will meet community leaders as well as develop friendships with students from other High Schools. Each event day is a “school sponsored absence”. The program begins in September and runs through May.
Here’s What You’ll Learn - Leadership Skills & Community Engagement
The program runs for 1 year where you will gain valuable knowledge about your community through tours, panels, and demonstrations on:
- The concepts of "Gracious Space" by Patricia M. Hughes as taught by Hatton Littman to include the four tenets of:
- Setting
- Spirit
- Invite the Stranger
- Learning in Public
- Communication Styles
- Embracing the Uncomfortable
- Self Management
- Critical Thinking
- Financial Literacy
- Small Business Skills
- The Importance of Service Work
- 5 Field Trips Outside the Classroom
Program Fees
The student fee is $50 for each year. Scholarships available.
Application Deadline
May 15, 2024
Questions
Please call the United Way at (406) 752-7266
Sponsorship Opportunity
The Leaders of Tomorrow program makes a difference in the lives of high school students who are interested in developing leadership skills, learning about their community, exploring career opportunities and gaining self confidence. By sponsoring students in the program, corporate sponsors will make a lasting impact on the lives of young women and men who will become the leaders for our community in the future. This indeed will have a lasting intrinsic value to the Flathead Valley.
The program will also highlight businesses in Flathead Valley through our media work, publications and the families and students enrolled in the program.
Testimonials
- “I’ve become part of the community.”
- “I feel more confident.”
- “It’s inspired me to get involved.”
- “It was a lot of fun and I met top leaders in the Flathead Valley.”
- “It changed my life for the better.”
Thank You to our Sponsors
