Many applied but only four Belizean students have been chosen to participate in Dr. Arlie Petters Summer Leadership Academy. It will be held in July at the Petters Research Institute in Dangriga which is where the four Belizeans will spend two weeks training alongside 2 Belizean Americans, 7 Americans, and one student from the United Kingdom. The students received their packages this morning and 7News was there. We spoke to a Director of the Petters Institute – Dr. Louis Zabaneh.

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Director – Petters Research Inst.
“It will be focused on leadership. We will be having renowned leadership experts from various universities in the US and from around the world that Dr. Petters will be bringing in using state of the art technology to link up in some cases with professors who will not be able to be here in Belize. So very very exciting topic to be dealing with at this time, especially for these very bright young students.”

Mischa-von Derek Aikman, Accepted into Leadership Academy
“I’m very much looking forward to interacting academically with contemporaries fro abroad, the US and the UK, and I have always maintained that the mark of a true leader is someone who is able to bring out the leadership qualities in others. So hopefully whatever experiences and techniques and skills I walk away from the program with, I am able to share with my colleagues and friends to help them develop if not improve the leadership qualities in themselves as well. I am certainly honoured to be in the presence of some of the greatest minds and I’ll try my best to learn as much as I can from him because I know what a great opportunity it will be to be working alongside with him and I am very much looking forward to that.”

Britney Meighan, Accepted into Leadership Academy
“I just hope to learn all they can give me, hopefully develop some more leadership skills, maybe identify my talent like they said. I am thrilled, I am thrilled. This is such a great opportunity and I am honoured to be a part of it.”

Xux Ek Novelo, Accepted into Leadership Academy
“When I found out that I was accepted, I was very glad. I actually started to jump up because this is coming from Duke University, like one of the major universities that you hear about. So knowing that I got accepted was very glad because you have a lot of bright minds out there and to be accepted is very amazing.”

Keith Swift,
What do you hope to get from this?

Xux Ek Novelo,
“Well I hope to get an overall view of the economy and if I later on go into business, I want to be able to help the economy and improve the economy so that we can promote Belize throughout the world.”

Gillian Morrison, Accepted into Leadership Academy
“I believe it is a program that will enable us to become good leaders of today and be able to run the country or something somewhat.”

Douglas Morrison, Gillian’s Father
“I hope that my daughter will be able to develop leadership skills. She already has been doing well, excellent academically and she has been a leader in her school, peer helping, pre-fect at her school, and she has been a leader so we hope she will be able to develop it in a level that she can go beyond that, be able to lead Belize in the future.”

Dr. Louis Zabaneh,
“It is to develop the leadership qualities in these students. Really they are excelling in their course work at various schools they attend. Many of them Belizeans will recognize as being very bright Belizeans and this will certainly be a stepping point for them, motivational period for them, to develop the innate skills that we all have as leaders and certainly looking into the future, these will the people that will carry Belize forward. So this is a very very important time for them.”

The Leadership Academy will run from July 10th to the 24th.

7NEWS produced for broadcast by News Director Jules Vasquez
Edited and Prepared for the internet by Keith Swift