Kris Stroud was blind. When he approached someone, he saw no race, no color, no gender and no age. Yet his vision was just fine. Teen Leadership altered Kris Stroud’s view of the world.

In Mrs. Schimming’s Teen Leadership II class, students were taught to leave prejudices behind and become leaders in their community.

“That’s what I like about teen leadership. It has more of a family setting,” Stroud said.  “I know I can go up to anyone in teen leadership and talk to any of them. I don’t have to worry about like ‘oh crap, where am I going to sit today’.”

Teen II students helped plan and organize events such as Pink Fest. They also volunteered at clown school to become clowns for Mission Arlington.  Kayley Wilson enjoyed giving back to the community and helping people less fortunate than herself.

“We all have to learn to step out of our shell, so we can do things like be a clown and not get embarrassed easily. We saw that something as simple as clowns can make people happier,” Wilson said.

Students in Teen II were encouraged to try and become leaders and take initiative with the many projects Mrs. Schimming planned throughout the year. According to Stroud, it doesn’t always go smoothly.

“It teaches you to be a leader in the community. People may see us and think we don’t do anything, but you have to be a leader and lead yourself in class,” Stroud said. “Sometimes Schimmy actually helps too much. She’s like our mom, and she wants to just take care of it. For LUCK week she said she’s not going to do that at all.”

Although the various projects could get stressful for Wilson, she believed it was a good experience.

“Sometimes I get stressed out, but that’s how you become a better leader. You get stressed out and learn how to do things more effectively, and it’ll help you in the long run,” Wilson said.