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Three Ceres students picked for Leadership Class
• 31 teens representing 16 high schools
Natalia Armas
Central Valley High School student Natalia Armas participates in an exercise in the Leadership Academy gathering on Sept. 9.

Stanislaus County Office of Education’s (SCOE) Leadership Academy includes three Ceres teens, selected as 31 students representing 16 individual high schools for their 2022-2023 Leadership Academy Class. Students attend Leadership Academy on the first Friday of the month during the school year.

New class members include Elise Anderson of Ceres High School; and Delia Vidal and Natalia Armas from Central Valley High School in Ceres. Also part of the class is Elizabeth Franklin of the Keyes to Learning Charter School in Keyes.

Students and their families attended a “meet and greet” session in August. The first class, titled, “Team Building and Introduction to Leadership Day,” took place on Sept. 9. The session included Matt Emerzian, author and founder of Every Monday Matters movement, inspiring students by demonstrating the ways in which they matter and can make a difference.

Students also heard from local leaders, including Stanislaus County Board of Supervisor Mani Grewal, county Superintendent of Schools Scott Kuykendall, Chief Deputy District Attorney Wendell Emerson, and Modesto City Councilwoman Rosa Escutia-Braaton.

Following the panel, students took part in a “True Colors” training to learn more about their own leadership style and how to collaborate in a diverse group. Students finished the day with a team-building activity at a downtown Modesto escape room.

“We look forward to sharing Nonprofit Day with students on Oct. 21 where they will visit a variety of local nonprofit organizations,” said Prevention Programs Director Dallas Plaa.

Leadership Class 2022
The 31 students from across the county who were chosen to be a part of the Stanislaus County Office of Education’s (SCOE) Leadership Academy include Elise Anderson of Ceres High School (in front, second from right); Central Valley High School’s Delia Vidal (wearing glasses and black shirt); and next to her left, Natalia Armas also of Central Valley High School.