Wilderness adventure develops leadership skills in students

Casey Middle School students Kelsey Trautwein, Cassie Heist, Amanda Feron, Michael Gates, Emily Klein, Michael Rodriguez and Brenna Mayer, Casey Middle School students, prepare for the rope course challenge at the Wilderness Adventure Program held at Houghton College last month.

Students from Williamsville's Casey Middle School took part in a leadership camp at Houghton College on Sept. 29-30. Twenty-five, seventh and eighth grade students, plus 11 staff members, traveled to Houghton for 24 hours of programming that focused on enhancing leadership skills.

The young participants slept outdoors and took part in a variety of self-assessment activities that included rope-course challenges. The Wilderness Adventure Program Staff at Houghton College worked with the Casey Middle staff members to provide the camp activities.

The purpose of the program is to help students recognize how to become better, more effective leaders within their school community. The students who attended the camp have taken on leadership roles at Casey through the Student Activities Committee, the No Putdowns Program, and the Physical Education Department's Student Leadership Team.