Abraham Lincoln LEADing Emerging Leaders

Last week I had the privilege of visiting with the LEAD: Spirit of Lincoln Youth Leadership Academy in Jacksonville, Illinois. Led by Sarah Watson and George Buss, I discovered an amazing group of emerging leaders and their equally amazing mentors. I came away thoroughly impressed.

And the program is indeed impressive. When I arrived the group of 40 seventh grade students were watching Steven Spielberg’s movie, Lincoln. After the movie, and after they asked questions to George Buss about it, the students all moved back to the classroom where they split into their color-coded groups (Red, Gold, Silver, etc.) to do a verbal and written debriefing. Each student was encouraged to offer their views of the movie and wrote comments on large poster sheets of paper. The goal was to help them think about what they just saw or experienced. The Academy participants did this for each event they participated in, which included visits to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (where they saw the original Gettysburg Address), New Salem (where they experienced Lincoln’s early life in Illinois), the old State House (where Lincoln practiced law), and several other venues.

Beyond the emerging leader students themselves, I was struck by the high level of leadership shown by the group of eight mentors. These college age men and women each were responsible for a group of approximately six students and worked with some autonomy from Sarah and George’s overall guidance. I was truly impressed with their ability to encourage, guide, and inspire the students. Without these amazing mentors, the program wouldn’t work. Congratulations and thank you to all of you.

I played only a tiny part in the program but it’s an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life. On the first evening I watched the groups debrief after the Lincoln movie and then joined them for dinner in the Illinois College cafeteria. The next morning I gave them some background on my own leadership experience and lessons I had learned about how to lead. I then answered some incredibly insightful questions from both students and mentors.

Why me? In part because my book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, was given to each student and mentor for the second year in a row. But also because I’ve somehow risen from being the quiet, non-participant (i.e., “the shy kid”) in my younger years to a series of leadership roles in my life and career. I told them how I accidentally became President of my college Biology Society, then President of a regional chapter of an international scientific organization (twice!), President of a second scientific organization, Chair of the scientist group at my former employer, Chair of the Program Committee organizing a North American conference with 2500 attendees, and a variety of other leadership positions.

I’m currently Vice President of Education and Outreach for the Lincoln Group of DC, the most active Abraham Lincoln group in the nation. From the LEAD program I learned a lot that can benefit the outreach and education activities of the Lincoln Group of DC. So I learned as much from the students and mentors as they did from me.

After my session I was happy to sign copies of my book to each and every student and mentor. Each one also had a photo taken with me (or I had my photo taken with them), along with a group photo for each of the color-coded groups with their mentors.

My fondest memory is watching the students become engrossed in my book after the signings. One student, upon flipping through the graphics-heavy pages, told George Buss that “This is so cool.”

This is so cool.

That absolutely made my day. This is why I wrote the book. I wanted to reach the public that might not be reading – or reading yet – the big Lincoln tomes that dominate the market. I wanted the graphics to both grab the reader’s attention and provide another means of educating them. I wanted people, both students and adults, to read my book and think, “This is so cool.”

So thank you Sarah and George and all the mentors and students for allowing me to learn from all of you. I’ll never forget the experience.

[And thanks to Sarah, George, Heather, and the LEAD staff for all the great photos!]

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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