Mission
The mission of Maryland Leadership Workshops,Inc. is to provide leadership training and education to individuals and groups in Maryland and throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. MLW inspires youth to realize their leadership and human potential and empowers youth with the skills and confidence necessary to become catalysts for positive change in their schools and communities and to succeed in all facets of their lives.
Philosophy
At MLW,we believe that the essence of leadership is the ability to persuade or motivate people to achieve a goal or outcome. Whether one exercises leadership in an elected office or from a behind-the-scenes role,MLW believes that all students are capable of enacting demonstrable change. The skills that make a leader effective,however,are not only beneficial in traditional leadership settings,but have an immeasurable,tremendous impact on all aspects of one’s life. Empowered with the skills of leadership,our society’s young people not only become capable of living more fulfilling lives,but can realize their dynamic ability to enhance the lives of others and to positively impact their schools,peers,and communities.
History
Maryland Leadership Workshops,Inc. (MLW),founded by Felix Simon,is a not-for-profit educational organization that has been providing leadership training programs to Maryland middle school and high school students since 1956. Additionally,MLW trains teachers on how to effectively advise student groups. From 1978 through 1994 and 1999-2000 MLW was affiliated with The Maryland State Department of Education as a “gifted and talented” center. MLW is presently affiliated with the Maryland State Department of Education as a State-Aided Educational Institution. MLW has been in partnership with the Maryland Association of Student Councils (MASC) since 1956 and with Leadership Maryland since 2004.
Leadership encompasses a wide variety of skills and characteristics. The essence of leadership is the ability to persuade or motivate people to achieve a goal or outcome. The skills that make a leader effective,however,are not only beneficial in traditional leadership settings,but have an immeasurable,tremendous impact on all aspects of one’s life. Empowered with the skills of leadership,our society’s young people not only become capable of living more fulfilling lives,but can realize their dynamic ability to enhance the lives of others and to positively impact their schools,peers,and communities.
MLW’s programs provide opportunities for middle school and high school students from all parts of Maryland to discover and strengthen individual and group leadership skills. At these unique programs,each student identifies his/her own leadership skills,strengths,and weaknesses in a supportive and fun environment,which fosters increased self-esteem and confidence. These skills are applied to a multitude of individual and group situations,thereby increasing the students’ problem solving ability,appreciation of diversity,and knowledge of new techniques and methods of leadership. Finally,the participants refine their newly acquired leadership skills in a “hands on” practicum which challenges the students to develop projects and action plans to implement in their home and school communities.
Our programs attract accomplished student leaders and students who seek to develop their leadership potential from all across the State of Maryland. In addition,our programs consistently attract students from every county in Maryland as well as Baltimore City. Not only do our programs draw students of diverse geographic backgrounds,they attract students with a myriad of diverse characteristics and experiences. All students who are interested in developing their leadership potential can benefit from our programs.
MLW’s programs provide unique opportunities for students to grow by developing the skills of leadership and the skills of life. These skills mirror the Skills for Success adopted by MSDE. Students actively learn about such topics as:self awareness,motivation,community service,leadership styles,interpersonal communication,ethics,character education,appreciating and managing diversity,group dynamics,decision making,conflict resolution,stress management,time management,problem solving,delegation,public relations,how to run a meeting,and public speaking. Most importantly,students have innumerable opportunities to actually apply the skills they are learning through the various activities and projects they plan and implement during MLW’s week long programs.
The more than 19,000 graduates from MLW’s residential programs and 100,000 participants in MLW’s community outreach programs have consistently excelled not only with respect to their leadership development,but have enhanced the quality of,and their success in,all aspects of their lives and communities. Empowering Maryland’s youth to realize their human potential and to make tangible contributions to their schools and communities has been MLW’s mission for the past fifty-five years.
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