Junior Leadership Northeast Graduates Class of 2023

Leadership Northeast proudly announces that 70 students from 15 area high schools celebrated their graduation this spring at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, with the support of the following Partners in Education Sponsors: King’s College, Luzerne County Community College, Misericordia University, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, and Wilkes University.

Junior Leadership Northeast (JLNE) is a transformative personal and professional leadership development program for high school juniors that provides training techniques to advance leadership skills while increasing community awareness and civic responsibility to affect positive change. The program began as a project of the Core Leadership Northeast Class of 1988 and is now guided by the Leadership Northeast team, an Advisory Council consisting of a cross section of community leaders, and Junior Leadership Northeast graduates. The program has the support and participation of 18 Northeastern Pennsylvania public and private high schools, PSEA, five local colleges and universities, as well as dozens of corporations and hundreds of individuals throughout the community. 

JLNE offers approximately 70 students per year the opportunity to work with community and business leaders through day-long seminars held from 8:00am to 3:30pm over a period of nine months. The JLNE programs take place September through April and school attendance is granted for each session attended. Program objectives of JLNE include developing leadership skills and encouraging students to interact with community leaders, decision-makers and peers from 18 participating schools; challenging these emerging leaders to apply their new knowledge and skills to community impact projects; acquainting high school students with community needs, resources and other factors that influence the direction of Northeastern Pennsylvania; encouraging accountability and empowering students to affect positive change in their own lives, as well as the community at large; fostering students’ interest in servant leadership and volunteer community service. 

The curriculum acquaints participants with community needs, opportunities, challenges and resources, featuring several topic areas that address progressive leadership skills including interpersonal communication skills, self-awareness, goal setting, emotional intelligence, government and citizenship, levels of diversity, the justice system, working toward consensus, conflict resolution, resilience and other community issues. Programs are held at various locations throughout Luzerne County and those locations are chosen with the intent to expose participants to as many aspects of the community as possible, including employers, (such as Benco Dental), institutions of higher education (such as Misericordia University) and recreational opportunities (such as Sky Zone Trampoline Park). Participants explore, test and build these leadership and employability skills, preparing them to improve their educational experience, to be prepared for the workforce, understand complex systems and exercise purpose-driven leadership. The cohort model allows for unprecedented peer-to-peer learning, collaboration and the exchange of ideas in a way that enables participants to achieve better results and immediately apply what they’ve learned to their classroom experience.  

In the spring of each year, Leadership Northeast accepts applications from high school sophomores interested in participating in the JLNE program the following fall. Applications are available at all participating public and private schools and must be submitted through the participating high school guidance office. The JLNE Class of 2024 has been finalized and will begin their program in the fall of 2023.

With an alumni base of over 2,500 servant leaders, LNE was founded in 1981 as a community leadership development organization. A non-profit organization, LNE is dedicated to developing informed and committed leaders from all segments of the community who will serve, strengthen and improve Northeastern Pennsylvania.