On Tuesday (Sept. 15), Delta State University will host the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Kickoff event bringing over 500 Mississippi high school students and administrators to the Delta State campus.
This event kicks off the year-long Chick-fil-A Leader Academy, a program to be held in 19 Mississippi high schools, that teaches leadership skills and empowers students to put those skills into action. A major goal of the Leader Academy is to inspire students to remain in school and become leaders within their community. Students will take part in monthly leadership labs at their schools and complete several service projects in their community.
The kickoff will include multiple events and is an integral aspect of the students’ initiation into the Leader Academy.
Beginning with an assembly at the Bologna Performing Arts Center, the students will receive detailed information on expectations and goals and will hear direct testimonials from schools that have participated in the past.
The major service event will follow, as students will take part in their first Impact Project, packing 200,000 meals to feed needy children in the Delta and beyond. This Impact Project is part of a national effort spanning 325 schools and 10,000 students to feed 1 million children across the United States.
In conjunction with this event, Chick-fil-A operators and DSU volunteers will distribute 2,500 Chick-fil-A sandwiches to the participating students, as well as to community businesses and after-school programs within the Delta area.
Elizabeth Joel, Coordinator of Continuing Education at Delta State, has worked closely with Chick-fil-A since April to plan the one-day event.
“We are excited about the partnership between Delta State and Chick-fil-A for this project and hope that it will continue for many years,” Joel said.
She added it is a wonderful opportunity for Delta State to host over 500 students who are the future leaders of our community.
“We want to demonstrate how important community involvement is at Delta State, in hopes these students will bring their developed, compassionate leadership skills back to us when they attend college,” she said.
In addition to hosting the kickoff event, Delta State departments and student organizations have received an open invitation to attend the leadership labs in the high schools over the next year to serve as mentors, especially in the area of community involvement, social issues, and thoughtful leadership.
The Leader Academy is funded completely by Chick-fil-A stores throughout Mississippi.
Lance Reed, operator of Chick-fil-A in Oxford, and a team of nine other state-wide operators are spearheading the project. They will work closely with the 19 high schools registered in the program as they complete their monthly leadership labs and multiple service projects for their communities.
