By: Matt Neely, Class of 2026
Getting up bright and early on a Saturday, Torchbearers’ Class of 2026 gathered for their second Leadership and Development (L&D) class, taught by Jeremy Lile, Executive Director of Heart to Heart Leadership.
The class was hosted at the Summit Recovery Hub, a nonprofit that promotes sustained recovery by providing connection, pro-social community activity, support and advocacy to those affected by substance use, addiction and mental health challenges.
After fueling up on coffee, doughnuts and bagels, the class began with conversations about one another’s personal mission statements. The main focus of this L&D class was on “Leading with Strength.” Each person analyzed their strengths through their Clifton Strength’s Finder results, using that as a starting point to learn how to be better leaders.
During the class we examined how to use these strengths to find our “super sixth strength,” a combination of our top five strengths, before discussing how to avoid the possible downsides of each strength. Next, we shifted to a group exercise where we worked to identify a problem in Akron and how we could best solve it using our various strengths.
The highlight of this L&D session were our special guests, both of whom are Torchbearers alumni. Chip Clupper, Director of Human Resources for the County of Summit, and Sierra Oden, School Social Worker at Cuyahoga Falls City School District, both discussed their careers and how their Strengths Finder results impacted their careers. They both remarked on how their strengths changed over time as they grew in their respective fields. Finally, they talked about the impact that Torchbearers has had in their overall career growth.
After the official session had ended, many of us continued the fun and learning at the post-social, where we participated in a guided vision board creation project.