Rochester Middle School Students Participate in West Point Leadership Conference

The following news was submitted to Rochester Patch.

Julian Benevides, Mark Patritto, Ben Petersmark, and Mitchell Sokol, 8th grade students at Van Hoosen Middle School, participated in the Second Annual West Point Leadership and Ethics Conference on Oct. 19, 2012, at the Detroit Marriott.

Mark Patritto was selected to receive the Leader Amongst Leaders Award which was presented to him by the West Point Director of Admissions, Colonel Deborah McDonald.

The conference participants were student delegates in grades 6, 8 and 11 from schools across the metropolitan Detroit area. Student participants must have a solid academic record with a recommended 3.0 GPA and were selected to participate based upon demonstrated leadership in and out of the classroom.

This was a fast-paced student-driven workshop requiring active participation during an exploration of the topics of leadership, civility, diversity, communication and character. During the conference, student delegates were evaluated by West Point cadets in areas of superior effort and demonstrated leadership. The Cadet Committee determined the individual awards. Mark Patritto, and one other 8th grade student delegate in his group, were individually recognized for their contributions during the breakout sessions led by West Point cadets.

The conference was designed to be a community outreach program with a goal to inspire and build ethics crucial to future leadership as well as empower students with tools to confront peer pressures of school age life to make the “right” choice. Students must have a passion for being an ethical leader in order to participate and contribute to the success of the conference. The conference was heavily supported by the West Point Society of Michigan, led by Tom Beierschmitt (WP ’68), Board President (www.west-point.org/society/wps-michigan). Both Dave Sokol (WP ’89) and Kim Sokol (WP ’89) are active members of the Society’s Board of Directors.