Timothy Christian School was graciously invited to participate in the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy by South Plainfield Chick-fil-A franchise owner/operator Will Bridges. The Chick-fil-A Leader Academy is a national high school leadership program that is designed to inspire America’s next generation of servant leaders. Will’s commitment to Timothy Christian has allowed for 30 of our high school students to participate in this life-changing program. The students meet once a month in the chapel led by Doug MacMillan and Debbie Hubler. To date, the students have learned about the importance of vison and values, servant leadership, teamwork, and innovation.
“I’ve learned what it takes to be a leader,” said Sylvia Praveen. Sylvia is a Senior participating in the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy. “You have to have a lot of teamwork, patience, and be genuine and straight to the point when talking to someone. My favorite activity was when we got to draw on a poster with a few other teammates. We had to draw as a team and I thought it was really interesting because we had to cooperate with each other and figure out what we wanted to draw together.”
Senior Rakeen King said, “My favorite activity was when we had to move the balloons from one side to the other because we had to use our creativity and all of our minds came together. We had one idea, and our idea didn’t work as well as the others because we didn’t ask questions, so we’re learning to ask questions. That’s what I like about it, we learn how to get all the details that we wouldn’t usually get because some of us are too shy, and we don’t step up so it’s really teaching us how to step up.”
Additionally, the students completed the first of two planned projects. In December, the academy participants collected over 250 items for the Marine Toys for Tots Program. They also participated in a service project where they packaged and distributed children’s books to local communities. Currently the students are working on the next goal, launching a community impact project that will take place in the spring.
Timothy students are blessed to have this incredible opportunity to learn and grow. The lessons learned in the Chick-fil-A Leaders Academy will help our students grow mentally, spiritually, and academically, as well as provide valuable insights that will stay with our students as they go off to navigate college and beyond.
For more information, please check out www.chickfilaleaderacademy.org
