One hundred PMHS students gathered in the Pelham Country Club’s main event room on November 29 to take part in the annual Pelham Together Youth Leadership Summit. Representatives from all grades took advantage of the opportunity to develop essential skills for any leader in a different setting with fresh faces and professional mentors.

The event was hosted by Pelham Together, an organization created by the combination of the Community Care Club and the former Pelham PACT Coalition. Pelham Together’s mission, according to their website, is “to ensure a healthy and vibrant community for and with the youth of Pelham.”

Throughout the day, students had multiple chances to participate in skill-oriented activities and challenges that focused on leadership qualities.

“The goals for the day are to encourage students to reflect on their own working style, identify strengths of other working styles, recognize the value of working together, and equip them with skills to do so—all habits of strong leaders,” Laura Caruso, Pelham Together’s executive director, said.

The summit featured a personality activity in which participants identified their top traits on a personality compass. Each navigational direction was matched with certain characteristics that helped the students identify and understand their cooperative strengths and weakness.

This year’s leadership summit also featured keynote speaker Daniel Horgan, Senior Director of Corporate Engagement for MENTOR, the National Mentoring Partnership. MENTOR’s mission is to help provide trusting advisors to young people growing up without this critical support. Horgan reflected on his experiences and inspired the participants to work together.

“Mr. Horgan pushed us to go out of our comfort zones and explore our personalities at a deeper level,” junior SJ O’Connor said.

Caruso hopes that the event was a meaningful experience for all students involved, and hopes to see continued participation in the future.

“We want them to walk away with at least one new tool they can use in school, at home, [or] as part of a team or group, that gives them the practice they need to hone that skill as they become more independent…and we hope they have some fun doing it!” Caruso said.