EMPOWERING OPPORTUNITIES
Learning from Our Community by Chris Ashbrook
Collegiate prides itself on the opportunities it provides for its students. Our greatest satisfaction, however, is seeing how those opportunities empower our students to see more, do more, learn more, and experience more than most. In short, these opportunities imbue our students with confidence and, as our mission statement confirms, help them to
Spirit Aerosystems’ President and CEO Tom Gentile shares his experience and wisdom with a captivated audience of students.
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“be the best versions of themselves.” These opportunities range from participating in a myriad of athletic, artistic, and academic activities, to becoming comfortable speaking in front of varied audiences, attending tutorial time, traveling to fascinating places, strengthening work ethic and time management skills, and feeling supported by their teachers and counselors in all their endeavors. Collegiate’s Leadership Academy, part of the WCS Institute for Community Impact, is a great example of empowerment for our students. The Leadership Academy provides our students the opportunity to engage with community leaders and industry executives across the Wichita area. Director of the Leadership Academy Joyann Brake beautifully sums up the purpose and potential of these opportunities: “We believe graduating Spartans should have an understanding of who they are, and how their service may transform our communities and our world. As we build students with an aim to lead and make a difference, we believe we are positively affecting the culture for now and in the future.” After bringing in over a dozen speakers to the school last year, the Leadership
Academy has expanded its program, offering different tracks in the nonprofit, civic, and business sectors with which students can engage, including “shadowship” partnerships in various fields for this year’s seniors. Kicking off this year’s Leadership Academy speaker series was Spirit Aerosystems’ President and CEO Tom Gentile. Over forty WCS juniors and seniors were able to gain from Mr. Gentile’s wisdom as he spoke to them about his company, time management, the 737 Max, and COVID crisis management. As he shared his experiences, he touched on what he deemed key leadership traits as well as the importance of learning from failures and weaknesses. Those in attendance listened intently, asked intelligent questions, and appreciated that they had the opportunity to learn from the leader of Kansas’ largest employer.
In addition to this session, eight students in this year’s senior class will have the opportunity to work with mentors from Spirit in the areas of engineering, business, finance, entrepreneurship, and politics. These “shadowships” with their mentors will span the school year. In addition
