Leadership Skills

Four Seasons Elementary School fifth-grader Jewel Golston wants to be president when she grows up, and already she's putting in time learning leadership skills for the job. Jewel joined about 400 Anne Arundel fourth- and fifth-graders in the public school system's second annual Elementary School Leadership Conference on Thursday at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. County high school students from its student government association helped lead workshops at the conference, which Anne Arundel school officials say is the only one of its kind in the state for elementary school students.

Jessica Cooper , of Woodbine, is the recipient of the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Ambassador award, given by the Student Services Department at Glenelg High School. She is being recognized for her leadership skills. Cooper will attend a three-day leadership conference in the spring with other Ambassadors from the state.

JAMES TREVILLIAN, a sophomore at North County High School, recently spoke about Hugh O'Brian Youth -- a leadership skills program -- at the annual installation and awards ceremony luncheon for the Woman's Club of Linthicum Heights at Snyder's Willow Grove Restaurant.James, who lives in Linthicum with his parents, Janice and Jeff Trevillian, was sponsored to attend a Hugh O'Brian Youth seminar by the club.A member of the National Honor Society, he is involved in track and field program at school.

The group of Howard County teenagers used Facebook and Twitter to get the word out: They were recruiting youth singers, performers and improvisational acts to perform at a fundraising concert at a senior center. For some, the idea of teens getting together to hang out with and perform for seniors might seem as odd as the New York Philharmonic performing on the "X Factor. " For Howard County's Leadership University (also called Leadership U), it is how area high school students reach out to the county's diverse population to develop leadership and service skills.

Instead of lounging comfortably at one of the pools this summer, 12-year-old Erika Scott is tramping through tall grass and mud, dodging poison ivy and building bluebird boxes.And there's not much room for boredom when you're helping to pack three tons of frozen corn at the Maryland Food Bank and managing a vegetable garden, said Owen Read, 12.Owen and Erika, with about 40 other Howard County children, are paying $210 each to work hard this summer in the TEEN Leadership Corps sponsored by the Columbia Association.

Most high school students don't know what they want to do with their lives. That's not the case for Lauren McDaniel, a 14-year-old sophomore at Glenelg High School. "I'm very interested in the medical field," said the dedicated teenager. "I'm doing independent research, a college level-type course, on the relationship between mental illness and substance abuse." McDaniel, who has a 4.0 grade-point average, is making sure she lays a good foundation for her future by taking rigorous academic courses.

Twelve-year-old Jason Amoss, a Taneytown seventh-grader with the build of a linebacker, found himself struggling to scale a nearly 7-foot wall at a military obstacle course.Cries of "Come on, Jason, you can do it" boosted his self-esteem, and some quick brainstorming with his teammates from Northwest Middle School enabled him to conquer the wall, one of eight obstacles at a leadership program at Camp Fretterd Military Reservation in Reisterstown.Twenty Carroll County seventh- and eighth-graders, ages 11 to 13, proved challenging obstacles can be conquered with teamwork and problem solving.

Elizabeth Carol Yarema, an attorney who believed in solving issues by mediation, died of a pulmonary embolism Monday at her northern Baltimore County home. She was 38. Born in Baltimore and raised in Sparks, she was a 1987 graduate of St. Paul's School for Girls, where she was yearbook editor and contributed to the school's literary magazine and newspaper. She received the Trustee Award, given to a student with "outstanding character, good citizenship, and who contributes with service to the community."

Jessica Cooper , of Woodbine, is the recipient of the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Ambassador award, given by the Student Services Department at Glenelg High School. She is being recognized for her leadership skills. Cooper will attend a three-day leadership conference in the spring with other Ambassadors from the state.

Student achiever: Michael Romano, 18. School: River Hill High School. Special achievement: First vice president for the Maryland Association of Student Councils. What he says about it: "It's an incredible job. We take positions on bills and legislation. Then we can go lobby legislators...we actually went into Annapolis, into the State House. It's really important that the student voice is out there." The best part of the job: "I've learned how to help others reach their potential a little more, how to help others develop their leadership skills."

Ken Niumatalolo has often said during his four seasons as Navy's head coach that developing leadership skills is more important for his players than winning football games. It was hard to tell during Niumatalolo's first three years whether the Midshipmen had their priorities right, considering that they won 27 games. But the past month has given Navy (2-4) plenty of opportunity to prove its coach right, with a four-game losing streak heading into Saturday's meeting with East Carolina (2-4)

I read your editorial "Breaking the rules" (April 7) as I was leaving town for the weekend last Thursday. All your points identifying the failure by the city's hiring system were right on. Mr. Epps perpetrated fraud, not only in his previous job with the Corrections Department, but in his position with the Housing Commission as well. However, while you identified Housing Commissioner Paul Graziano's role as part of the problem, you more-or-less soft pedaled his involvement in the entire affair.

Four Seasons Elementary School fifth-grader Jewel Golston wants to be president when she grows up, and already she's putting in time learning leadership skills for the job. Jewel joined about 400 Anne Arundel fourth- and fifth-graders in the public school system's second annual Elementary School Leadership Conference on Thursday at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. County high school students from its student government association helped lead workshops at the conference, which Anne Arundel school officials say is the only one of its kind in the state for elementary school students.

Asmi Panigrahi is spending her summer days in a Johns Hopkins University lab, assisting in research with an official title that many non-scientific types couldn't accurately repeat, let alone comprehend. For the rising junior at Atholton High School, studying an antioxidant system that helps prevent DNA damage caused by environmental stress — to boil down her complex work with a protein called Nrf2 into simpler terms — demonstrates her deep commitment to making valuable contributions to society.

Two Maryland football coaches accustomed to setting examples for their players are now role models for other coaches. Andrew Bonheyo of the Maryland School for the Deaf and Donald Davis of Calvert Hall represented the state in the ninth annual Youth Football Summit in Canton, Ohio, which ran Tuesday to Friday. Traditionally, the NFL and USA Football selects just one coach per state to attend the event - a series of seminars and workshops dealing with youth issues in football and the impact coaching can have.

Together, they sashayed down the catwalk in the empty cafeteria Thursday evening. "You've got to work this runway, girl," Codia Harris, 13, said to Tierra Perry, 12. A half-hour later, they and their peers at Windsor Mill Middle School were doing the walk in formal gowns and business attire, with pop songs such as Beyonce's "Diva" and a shouting, adoring audience as their soundtrack. They did so under the gaze of a pro: McKey Sullivan, winner of the 11th cycle of America's Next Top Model, served as the event's mistress of ceremonies, guiding the hundreds in attendance from one fashion scene to another.

Asmi Panigrahi is spending her summer days in a Johns Hopkins University lab, assisting in research with an official title that many non-scientific types couldn't accurately repeat, let alone comprehend. For the rising junior at Atholton High School, studying an antioxidant system that helps prevent DNA damage caused by environmental stress — to boil down her complex work with a protein called Nrf2 into simpler terms — demonstrates her deep commitment to making valuable contributions to society.

Elizabeth Carol Yarema, an attorney who believed in solving issues by mediation, died of a pulmonary embolism Monday at her northern Baltimore County home. She was 38. Born in Baltimore and raised in Sparks, she was a 1987 graduate of St. Paul's School for Girls, where she was yearbook editor and contributed to the school's literary magazine and newspaper. She received the Trustee Award, given to a student with "outstanding character, good citizenship, and who contributes with service to the community."

Leanora Eubanks Field instructor Baltimore Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound Salary --$18,000 Age --25 Years on the job --Two How she got started --While majoring in urban studies at Eastern University located outside Philadelphia, Eubanks took an Outward Bound program in Costa Rica. The three-month college course consisted of backpacking, white-water rafting, kayaking, hiking and scuba diving. Eubanks said it was a "really powerful" experience. Before she graduated, Eubanks applied for a job with Outward Bound in Baltimore, where she grew up. She began working there two days after graduation.