Baypath Humane Gets Helped by Local Youth Leaders

It was a week of learning for the 17 teens that chose to participate in the T.R.A.I.L.Blazers program offered through

The high school students teamed up to learn different leadership strategies and work toward a common goal. The teams were helping Hopkinton animal shelter .

One of the participants in the program was Morgan McCarthy, an incoming senior at Shrewsbury High School. McCarthy said she learned many skills she will utilize as cheerleading captain. 

"I learned a lot of different leadership skills that I didn't know existed," she said. "I learned that you don't always have to lead by example and you can change your style depending on the situation."

The group was divided in to four teams; each was tasked with creating a way for potential pet adopters to learn about the different aspects of adoption.

Teams created videos, pamphlets and even a website to help people learn about spaying and neutering, shelter adoption and volunteering.

On Friday they all gathered to present their work to a team of judges consisting of workers from SYFS and a judge from Baypath.

The winning team was awarded a cash scholarship and one individual was also recognized as the best leader from the group.

The orange team was selected as the winner for their work surrounding spaying and neutering.

Wyatt Doyll, a member of the orange team, was selected as the best leader and given a $500 prize.

"What I learned from this is how to change your leadership style to work best in the situation you are presented with," Doyll said.