"Our Story" Youth Leadership Conference
The "Our Story" Youth Leadership Conference is a unique service-learning project which began in Marianna, Arkansas in 2010. This organization was started out of sincere concern for the place we still call home. Since the inception of "Our Story", 27 graduates have returned to share their stories of life growing up in Marianna. Each school grants us one and a half hours for the former graduates to share their story. We visit the elementary, middle, high school, and the ALE school. In an effort to maximize the time we are granted at each school, we divide the students up by grade levels which allow the speakers to rotate through the various groups. The goal is for all students to hear each speaker's PAST story in an effort to impact their PRESENT and FUTURE story. Each year we provide at least five students with a $500.00 scholarship. The vision is that the recipients of the scholarships will collectively award a scholarship to a deserving senior the following year. The motto of "Our Story" is, "If you leave and grow, you can come back and plant." Our hope is that the motto will be a reflection of students duplicating what was done for them.