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Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber addresses the audience of high school and college students.

Students seated inside of the Bobby G. Cooper Fine Arts Center for the closing session

Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber signs autograph for ninth-grader Litako Towers of Wingfield High School.

Utica Campus Vice President Dr. Debra Mays-Jackson and Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber

The Student Learning Assistant Program sponsored its 21^st Annual Student Leadership Forum, Friday, Oct. 10 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at ���Ϲ���’s Utica Campus.

The one-day leadership conference was geared toward high school and community college student leaders who are members of clubs and organizations on their campuses and in their communities. Breakout sessions included: building effective teams, career goals, civic engagement, leadership styles and other character building topics.

“Being a great leader takes hard work and dedication, but most of the necessary skills can be learned if you’re willing to put in the time and effort. If you want a seat at the big table or you have aspirations of greatness, then certain leadership skills are necessary to take you to the next level and that is what this conference is designed to do,” said Dr. Priscilla Robinson, director of student learning assistance program, who is in charge of the conference.

“We want all students who want to become better leaders to attend the conference,” she said. “We want to help students enhance their leadership skills.”

The keynote speaker was Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber. His message to the audience of more than 300 high school and college students was that leadership is selfless and when you lead, you lead not for yourself but for everyone else.

“Leadership is about more than you, it is about the people that may never meet you but may be impacted by what you do,” Yarber told the audience.