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organizers.

The program is composed of seven sessions, conducted one Friday per month from September to April. Each session is held at various community locations and focuses on selected topics representing key leadership skill areas.

During each session, participants are introduced to issues through lectures, on-site visits, group discussions and simulations.

Upon completion of the sessions and accompanying assignments, which includes a service project, participants who enroll at Wright State University earn three hours of credit and a small scholarship, according to WSU professor Scott Williams, who helps facilitate the program.

On Friday, students visited Daybreak, a youth and social services organization; Clothes That Work, a nonprofit that provides professional clothing, image counseling and training for job seekers in Montgomery County; Habitat of Humanity of Greater Dayton; and El Puente Educational Center, an organization focused on community development education, and social and civic engagement for local families who trace their heritage to a variety of Latin American nations.

“It’s about learning of all the needs and issues in the community and getting them exposed because sometimes unless you visit and talk to the people (affected), you may not know these issues or needs exist,” said Tania Arseculeratne, community engagement officer for The Dayton Foundation. “It’s also about how these young leaders in the community can get involved in a volunteer role now or in the future.”

Dayton Regional STEM School student Joseph Wright said the program has allowed him to learn firsthand the various ways community leadership can manifest, how nonprofit organizations differ in their operations compared to normal businesses, and how he can meaningfully get involved in philanthropic efforts both now and in the future.

“It’s something that’s really hard to learn about in a normal school curriculum,” he said, adding that he feels his fellow classmates as a whole tend to show an interest in learning how they can positively benefit their community.

“They’re interested in and care about problems in the world and they want to become more educated, but also they want to do something constructive towards those problems as part of their life goals,” Wright said.

Woessner said she sees a similar sentiment among her peers.

“I think it’s just part of human nature to want to help people,” she said.