By Lizzy Roy

Salisbury Academy

SALISBURY — Rowan County has gained twelve more young leaders, driven to lead and inspired to make a positive difference in their community.

As part of its strategic mission to develop leaders and stewards of the community, Salisbury Academy, through its Broyhill Leadership Scholarship program, provided scholarships for twelve students from Rowan-Salisbury high schools to attend this year’s five-day Broyhill Leadership Conference.

Broyhill Scholar Taylor Conrad, a tenth-grader at Carson High School, left the Broyhill experience with a strengthened determination and optimism.

“My greatest takeaway from the Broyhill Leadership Conference is to be more positive when times are tough as a young person,” said Conrad. “I hope to rise up and be a stronger and better person in those situations.”

The idea of rising up rang true for Broyhill Scholar Julian “Max” Morgan, tenth-grader at Salisbury High School, as well. Morgan found that his increased sense of confidence after taking part in the program has enabled him to emerge as a leader.

“I have been able to use the techniques I was taught to motivate my football teammates and to help us use our individual talents for the good of the entire team,” said Morgan.

Morgan shared that his new outlook has changed his perspective on schoolwork and really all other areas of his life.

“I take more initiative in completing my work and set higher goals,” he shared.

Broyhill Scholars are challenged to grow their leadership skills and put them to practice through problem solving, critical thinking, and a variety of exercises in teamwork, empathy, and other key leadership components.

Sharing takeaways from her “empathy lunch” exercise — where students were all assigned a disability and had to function as if they had that limitation — Conrad said, “It was a really eye-opening experience and made me a more accepting person.”

Scholarship funds for the Broyhill program are raised in part through Salisbury Academy’s Corporate Partners, and through the school’s annual spring gala that this year was held at the N.C. Transportation Museum.

This is the eighth consecutive year that Salisbury Academy has provided the Broyhill Leadership Scholarship, an opportunity which sends local students in the tenth to twelfth grades to the Broyhill Leadership Conference each summer. Applications are sent to all of the Rowan-Salisbury high schools. Some students are nominated by their guidance counselors while other students apply on their own.

“Supporting the growth of young leaders is a key aspect of the Salisbury Academy mission,” said Beverly Fowler, head of school. “We’re honored to share this impactful opportunity with Rowan-Salisbury students.”

Conrad, Morgan, and their ten peers who completed the program this summer have big plans for how they will use their newfound knowledge and understandings of what it is to be a leader.

“I learned that leadership isn’t just about being in charge; it’s also about being a better student, friend, and person,” said Morgan.

Salisbury Academy thanks its corporate partners who helped to make the Salisbury Academy Broyhill Leadership Scholarship a reality. For a full list of Salisbury Academy’s corporate partners, please visit http://www.salisburyacademy.org/support-sa/corporate-partnership.cfm.