Seminar For Tomorrow's Leaders (S4TL)
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The Rotary Club of Naples sponsored two students from Naples High School to attend the 2011 Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders (S4TL) on the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland. Students who participate in the week-long S4TLexperience hear from national motivational speakers, Rotarians, and each other about the importance of making good decisions and giving back to their community. And, of course, they learn the values of Rotary. Lectures, discussions, "rap sessions," motivational talks, and interchanges of ideas/concepts are all a part of challenging S4TL participants to develop leadership abilities as they prepare to enter their senior year of high school. Students attending the Seminar are challenged to utilize all available skill, knowledge, talent, expertise, and intelligence toward specific goals. The ultimate goal of the Seminar is for each student to leave with a new self-awareness ready to not only better use their natural abilities but also to serve others in leadership throughout life.
Supported by 149 eligible Rotary Clubs and approximately 110 public and private high schools, S4TL encompasses the Rotary Clubs from Citrus County to Naples, across to Sebring, and up to east of Lakeland. The program is held at on the campus of Florida Southern College each June. S4TL 2011 marked the 31st year of the program.
The Rotary Club of Naples is proud to sponsor at least one S4TL student each year and pleased to hear about their experience when they return. Here is an excerpt from thank you letters recently written by the 2011 participants sponsored by our Club.
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I would like to take some time to thank you for selecting me to represent Naples High at the Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders program at Florida Southern. It was a truly remarkable experience that I am forever grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate. It has been over a week since I left the campus of Florida Southern and it saddens me to think that we all may not join together again. S4TL has changed my life and I cannot thank you enough. Words will never begin to touch on how meaningful this experience was towards developing me as a person. Each morning I look back in my notes and gather a few quotes to ponder upon. …S4TL not only gave me courage, but it taught me so many little life lessons that I will always carry with me. I learned about skills that leaders possess and why we have only one mouth but two ears. …Thank you again for selecting me to represent Naples High. It was a chance of a lifetime and full of memories I will never forget.
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Thank you Rotary Club of Naples for the opportunity I was given to spend a week at Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders. It truly was a life changing experience for me and hundreds of my peers from throughout Florida who also attended. I feel exceedingly blessed to have taken part in such a selective and prestigious program. I appreciate all the time, money, and effort that members of the Rotary Club of Naples put into my week at S4TL.
The single most important thing that I have taken home from S4TL is a strong support system. The people I came in contact with were truly phenomenal people who are striving to make a positive impact in their communities. Sometimes in high school, you can feel like you are relentlessly fighting an uphill battle to do the right thing. It seems as though you are the only one standing up for what is right. With the relationships I built at S4TL, I severely doubt those feelings will affect my senior year of high school. Thanks to the continued connections of S4TL attendees through the social media, I have not gone even a few days without talking to one of my new S4TL friends.
One of my goals for my senior year at Naples High is to radically change the campus environment. It is not cool to drink illegally, and it is not cool to get high. It is cool to do your homework, and it is cool to respect authority. As senior leaders on campus, we will set the tone. I intend to set a tone of integrity and high ethical standards. S4TL has given me confidence to stand on and knowledge to back up my convictions.
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