Forty-five students from Central Middle, North Middle, Southeast Middle, and West Middle participated in the Leaders In Traning Summit sponsored by Preferred Family Health.

Students participated in four sessions focusing on decision-making, leadership, coping skills, and drug education. They also had the opportunity to meet vendors from the community offering a wide variety of education, resources, and other information. 

“My favorite part of the event was the breakout session because it taught me how to believe in myself and not worry about other things in life,” explained Norah Wiegand, a 6th-grade student at West Middle. “It was all about how to be positive, and that made me so happy because I believe in myself and know my self-worth.”

Over two hundred middle school students across the metropolitan area participated in the training event and heard from guest speaker Koran Bolden, President of the Bold Moves Marketing Agency. Bolden, an author, entrepreneur, and mental health advocate engaged students about leadership and the skill sets needed to become a great leader. 

“It was an important event because some people need help to make good choices, and we learned about how you can lead someone to be a great person. I believe I can do that now because of the things I learned. Thank you to Hazelwood West Middle for allowing me to attend,” Norah exclaimed. 

The Hazelwood School District would like to thank Preferred Family Health for providing this opportunity for our middle school students to learn essential leadership skills so they can raise their voices for HSD!