By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A Northwest Leadership Intern is seeking to connect with local nonprofit groups to offer leadership training to youth.
Nikole Cain, a Kansas State University senior, will be in Hays through Aug. 1, and is available to offer leadership courses to youth 12 and older throughout northwest Kansas.
Cain’s workshops focus on developing leadership skills, team building and service.
She is looking for more organizations to work with this summer. She said she can offer anywhere from an hour workshop through an all-day leadership camp.
Although she is based with Extension, she is not limited to 4-H. She said she can work with any local community group, including Scouts, Big Brothers Big Sisters, vacation Bible schools, churches or groups.
The position has been funded through support of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. Counties included within this program are Lane, Ness, Rush, Ellis, Ellsworth, Barton, Russell, Phillips and Rooks. Cain’s services are free. She is only asking partner organizations to provide a small fee for supplies.
She has already conducted a Leaders Rise Up Day Camp in Hays.
“We are really challenging kids to focus on their leadership skills and how they can enhance the living in their communities with that service learning project that they create and design and hopefully after the camp implement within their community,” she said.
The service projects are developed by the kids based on their interests. They can do projects individually or as groups. One group from her first camp decided to make quilts and donate them to a homeless shelter. Another group decided to donate their time to the Humane Society and work to encourage others to volunteer or adopt animals.
“It can look like a lot of thing, but you are just challenging those kids,” she said. “A lot of them this is their first step in leadership. They have never taken a leadership role. They are very young. It is challenging to get them to think outside of the box and think of what leadership looks like.”
Cain will offer another leadership day camp for students 12 and older through extension from 9 to 3 p.m. June 25 at the Cottonwood District Extension office in Hays. Cost is $5 per child. The children will need to bring a sack lunch.
Deadline to register for the event is Friday. Call the Extension office at (785) 628-9430 to register.
Growing up in Admire, Kansas, on a 5th generation farm, Cain, 22, has deep roots within agriculture. She was a 12-year 4-H’er and heavily involved within the National FFA organization throughout high school. She is majoring in agriculture education with double minors in leadership studies and animal science.
She will be returning to Hays this fall to student teach under ag teacher Curt Vajnar at Hays High School.
If you are interested in having Cain present about leadership, contact the Cottonwood District Extension office in Hays at (785) 628-9430.