Casey Miller of Old Bridge, a student at St. John Vianney High School, Holmdel, recently participated in the six-day National Young Leaders Conference (NYLC) in Washington, D.C. NYLC is a leadership development program for high school students who have demonstrated leadership potential and scholastic merit. The Old Bridge teen is one of approximately 400 students from across the country selected to attend the conference.
The theme of the event was "The Leaders of Tomorrow Meeting the Leaders of Today." Miller interacted with a variety of personnel who operate within the three branches of government, the news media and the international community.
To complement the schedule of special meetings and briefings, Miller also participated in a number of leadership skill-building activities and simulations. In one role-play activity titled "If I Were President," students acted as the president and cabinet members responding to an international crisis. Students also took part in "Testing the Constitution," in which they examined actual Supreme Court cases.
The conference culminated with the Model Congress, in which scholars assumed the roles of U.S. representatives and debated, amended and voted on proposed mock legislation.