Lott Leadership Institute News

Title: Lott Institute sends high school seniors to Washington

Thomas Nabors July 18, 2005 The Lott Leadership Institute for High School Students will be sending a group of high school seniors to Washington for eight days to see the role of leadership in its highest form in politics.

Twenty students from across the region will leave Oxford, where they have been taking classes in political science and speech and visit the nation's capital in an experience in politics, service and leadership.

The Lott program, named after Ole Miss alumnus and Mississippi United States Senator Trent Lott, has been fostering leadership potential in teenagers for six years.

In order to be a part of the program, a student must be nominated by his or her principal for outstanding leadership and have a 3.2 grade point average in 15 academic courses.

This year, the program has 39 students, 20 for the month of July and 19 for June.

Stephen Gemoules is a student in the Lott Institute. He said the program is preparing students for leadership.

"The Lott program is an invaluable experience. The program prepares you to be a leader. The other kids are very interesting human beings," Gemoules said.

While in Washington the students will visit the Washington Mall, the Library of Congress and the Filenes Center for the Performing Arts to see "Peter Pan."

Other stops include the Holocaust Museum, the House and Senate Gallery Passes, the Faith and Politics institute, the Freedom Forum and the Ethics Resource Center.

The students will hear speeches from Ralph Eubanks, Eddie Frits, Trent Lott, Rev. Doug Tanner and Charles Overby.

The students will also do some community service at the Kitchen of SOME, a soup kitchen in Washington.

The group will set out on their journey July 20 and the political experience will end Wednesday, July 27.

Will Moore, another Lott Institute student, said the experience will be worth the effort.

"The best experience will be meeting all of the different senators. It will also be fun visiting the monument and museum," Moore said.

The goal of the program was to prepare future leaders for their future responsibilities,said Joann Miller-Edwards, director of the UM Forensics Team and a speech instructor.