Last week, Sacred Hearts Academy high school students, in addition to many other young people from across the state, congregated at the Hawaii Convention Center for the purpose of becoming better leaders.

The one-day event, called EMERGE, was hosted by the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders (CTL) Ambassador program and brought together more than 600 students from over 30 public and private high schools across the state.

According to CTL, the conference was a time for the “next generation of high school leaders to unite and to be empowered.” The theme was Beyond the Horizon: A Vision For Yourself and Hawaii.

Students spent the day learning and interacting with their peers, becoming versed on the values of a competent leader. They also made new friends and connections with students from other schools. In addition, they listened to a wide range of speakers, including navigators from the Hokulea Worldwide Voyage and other leaders from a wide range of sectors.

Academy junior Angelyne Loiselle, who is also part of the Junior Division Council, received priceless leadership advice from EMERGE.

“The best piece of advice that I was given at the conference was that I can’t be a great leader if I’m not confident in myself,” she said. “In one of the sessions, I was told that ‘you’re only as good as your lowest plank,’ which made me realize that in order to lead others, I have to trust myself first.”

The  CTL Ambassador program is a Hawaii-central leadership program for the young people of Hawaii. It offers leadership development courses and includes a framework that is not only based on research but on core ethical values as well.

The Academy students were joined by Director of Development Emily Torres and Director of Student Activities Cleo Eubanks.