Junior Leadership is a very respectable and rewarding program that has been held in high esteem in the local area for many years. Each year, only a few students are selected into the program at participating schools. 

Beginning in 1981, Junior Leadership was started as a project and has developed into much more. It expanded into a large program with roughly 50 students involved, striving to create a better society for our future generations. Creating friendships and growing lines of communication is a key component of the organization, making for a better forthcoming world.

Leadership in Wilkes-Barre has a variety of programs for all age groups – Junior Leadership is just one of them.  Programs include a Core, Executive, Junior, and many more.

“Junior Leadership Wilkes-Barre is a leadership program for high school juniors which encourages and enables potential young leaders to develop their leadership skills while increasing their awareness of the various elements that form their community.”

Below, you will find a question and answer section with the GNA students involved:

Meghan Duda

Why did you become involved in junior leadership?

I wanted to do Junior Leadership to become more involved in my community and meet new people.

What is Junior Leadership?

Junior Leadership is a program in which you interact with leaders from NEPA and participate in activities to help yourself as an individual become more involved within your community. At the end of the program, a community service project is held to benefit a local nonprofit.

How often do you meet?

As a whole program, Junior Leadership meets once a month. The individual project groups try to meet 2-3 times a month to plan our community service project.

Have you met any new people in the program?

I have met lots of new friends through Junior Leadership. I hangout with kids from my project group outside of the program very often. I’ve also met others through different activities the program holds. We all get along very well- its a pleasant experience being there.

What is the best part about being in Junior Leadership?

The best part about being in junior leadership is being more involved in helping out the community and making new friends and connections in the area.

William Kanjorski

Why did you become involved in junior leadership?

When I first learned about Junior Leadership, I thought it was a great opportunity to learn new skills and to help my community. Participating in this program was just an obvious choice for me.

Have you met any new friends?

I don’t know if I would consider the students in my project group as friends since we only see each other a few times a month, but the time we do spend together is very meaningful.

What’s the best part of Junior Leadership?

You get out of Junior Leadership what you put in. For me, it feels great to know that I’m going to be helping people in my community.

What were the most memorable activities?

Going to Skyzone was one of my favorite programs.

How did you benefit so far?

Junior Leadership is more than learning to be a great “leader.” You learn to be a great communicator, a great problem solver, and a great person.

Describe how your project group attends to have an effect on the community.

My project group came up with the idea to work with the Osterhout Library in Wilkes-Barre. Although we aren’t quite there yet, we plan on reading to children a few times a month at the Library and, on April 23rd for National Reading Day we will be holding a larger event to benefit the library.

Emalie Rowles

What made you want to participate in Junior Leadership?

I wanted to do Junior Leadership because I was looking for an opportunity to meet new people, network, and do good for my community.

How long have you been involved?

We have been having meetings since September, the beginning of junior year.

Have you met any new friends?

I have absolutely met many new people, so I’ve gained a few people here and there.

What is the best part about being involved?

I love being able to meet local community leaders and learning to make strong connections that will make a long-lasting impact on my future.

What were the most memorable activities?

We have quite a few more to participate in, but so far my best memory is placing second with my group in a dodgeball tournament at Skyzone.

How did you benefit from the program?

I have learned to make lasting first impressions, work as a group with my peers, channel my strengths and weaknesses in group work, and the importance of networking. I have also made new friends and I am currently working on a community service project with my group.

EJ Gill

What made you want to participate in Junior Leadership?

I wanted to expand my Leadership skills and become a more efficient part of the community.

How long have you been involved?

Since the beginning of junior year.

Have you met any new friends?

I have met tons of new people and know people all over the valley.

What is the best part about being involved?

It’s a great experience being part of a group where you don’t know anyone and you have to come up with a community service project.

What were the most memorable activities?

My most memorable activity was dodgeball at Skyzone.

How did you benefit from the program?

I learned all about working in effective teams and learning how to be an effective leader.

Garrett Dzugan

What is Junior Leadership?

Junior Leadership is a program focused around giving high school Juniors early leadership experience along with making connections in the community.

How often do you meet?

The entire Junior Leadership class meets once a month to discuss different topics that will help us work together on our projects.

However, each individual project group meets as often as they see necessary to complete their goals.

Have you met any new people in the program?

I have made many friends and new connections around NEPA through Junior Leadership.

What is the best part about being in Junior Leadership?

The best part of Junior Leadership is that it opened my eyes to see that changing the community for the better and holding beneficial events isn’t as impossible or daunting as it seems.

Why did you become involved in junior leadership?

I became involved in Junior Leadership so that I could learn about my community, make new friends, and experience what it is like to help organize and execute an event benefiting my community.