Sophomores looking for leadership opportunities have until Friday, March 30 to apply for Lafayette Junior Leadership.

Lafayette Junior Leadership is a volunteer-based leadership program for juniors in high school who want to learn about leadership opportunities around the Lafayette area. This program has been running for 21 years with the current class graduating this May. Students from all around the area apply, but only a select group are chosen. This school year, six Ascension students were accepted into the program: Laura Lee, Anna Remondet, Hannah Bennett, Summer Milam, Michael Trahan, and Chris Falcon.

At the first session, students attend a retreat in August and play the challenging game called SimSoc. This game is a mock society that the members are supposed to uphold without any directions or organized system. This game really brings the students together and helps you make new friends very quickly. The normal sessions start in September, and they are held once a month on a Monday.

The students travel around the city to work with Leadership programs and learn about their community. Examples of places that they have visited include St. Joesph’s Diner, Lafayette Parish Correctional Center, New Iberia Primate Research Center, and many more.

“My favorite place we went would have to be the New Iberia Primate Center because of the cute little baby chimps,” said Anna Remondet. “It was also cool to go to the Children’s museum and relive old childhood memories, and we got free gelato afterwards!”

My favorite place that we went during Lafayette Junior Leadership was St. Joseph’s Diner,” said Laura Lee. “It was a great experience to serve the homeless and to find out exactly what our community is doing to help these people out. Also, it was fun to go to Acadiana Center of The Arts and getting a full tour of all the background stuff.”

Applications for the 22nd class are being distributed now, and if you are interested, see Ms. Fournet. The application process consists of two teacher references, your general opinion on what you think can be done to improve the Lafayette community, and a 200-word essay. Also, students must pay a $100 tuition fee and must attend all sessions.