Top 5 pieces of advice Columbus mayor shared with these high school students
Mitchell Harris, Shaw High School’s senior class president, wants the job of the guest he invited to speak in front of the school’s senior class this month.
“I’m very passionate about my community and where I come from,” Mitchell, 17, told the Ledger-Enquirer before he interviewed Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson on the auditorium’s stage Nov. 1. “I feel like that’s the ultimate act of service that you can give: to lead your community to the next level.”
Before he runs for mayor, Mitchell plans to major in political science at Georgia State University or Morehouse College, then go to law school. As the Future Business Leaders of America region president, he figures the mayor’s visit could help him and his classmates figure out the transition from school to workforce.
“I hope, out of this, our seniors gain motivation and resources they did not have before,” he said.
Any of the approximately 260 Shaw senior could have attended, Mitchell said, and 15 were in person while 25 watched via the livestream.
Henderson said he spoke to the students as a way of preparing for the future.
“We’ve got to continue to nurture and build the next wave of leadership,” he said. “… We want them to understand they can be successful right here.”
Shaw principal Surerya Hendrick sees the mayor’s visit meshing with the school’s mission to produce servant leaders.
“He’s a primary source,” she said, “and primary sources have always throughout history been the most effective way to relay information, to energize and ignite people.”
Here’s some of the advice Henderson shared with the students.
‘Don’t ever think you’re not worthy’
Henderson attended the University of Georgia after graduating from Columbus High School. But after two years in Athens, his grades reflected three years’ worth of fun and 1½ years of education — at least that was the assessment from his father, Berry, the mayor said.
So he returned home to work in his father’s real estate business. He became team leader at Keller-Williams Realty, chaired local chapters of the Better Business Bureau, March of Dimes and Kiwanis Club, and served as a citywide representative on Columbus Council for nearly two decades before being elected mayor in 2018.
“I was not mature,” he told the students about his college days. “Frankly, I just wasn’t ready to leave where I was and go straight to Athens and be on my own. Looking back, I realize it was an opportunity I let slip through my fingers.”
Henderson said overcoming that setback shows the value of not giving up.
“There are a lot of paths to a single destination,” he said. “And don’t ever count yourself out or sell yourself short just because you think you’ve stumbled. Don’t ever think you’re not worthy.”
‘Do some work that makes you sweat’
Referring to working as a roofer for a few months, Henderson encouraged the students to seek ways to gain perspective, such as getting a manual labor job for a while, even if they want to become an executive.
“Do some work that makes you sweat,” he said. “Don’t just sit behind a computer and let that be your entire work history. … Learn what it feels like to exert yourself and to strain your muscles, to perspire, and at the same time help somebody else.”
‘You have a voice’
The resilience high school seniors have displayed, by persevering through the COVID-19 pandemic to be on the cusp of graduating, can help them contribute to the community and be successful adults, Henderson said.
“Identify what’s in you, what’s in your heart,” he said. “… You have a voice. Even if you don’t vote yet, contact your city councilor, contact your mayor, and stay engaged.”
Henderson urged the students to also contact the United Way, which can refer them to organizations welcoming volunteers.
“What you’ve had to endure, what you’ve had to overcome in order to stay focused and accomplish your academic goals, I’m telling you, I can’t wait to see what you guys end up doing,” he said.
‘Please put the phone down’
Staying engaged should go beyond social media, Henderson said.
“I beg you to please to put the phone down,” he said. “Learn interpersonal communication. … It really is truly about people. It’s about being able to relate. It’s about being able to read body language.”
‘You come to us’
Henderson told the students to be proactive about seeking change to improve their community.
“Don’t sit there and wait for the city to come ask you to help us do something,” he said. “You come to us and say, ‘I’ve got this idea.’”
For example, Henderson said, the city’s skate park started as a proposal from the Columbus Youth Advisory Council.
“I hope you continue to hold us as your leaders accountable, and I hope you will one day say, ‘I can do that. I can do it better than they’re doing it, so I’m going to put my name in the hat.’”
That already is part of Mitchell’s post-high school plan. But here’s what he did learn from the mayor’s visit:
“Opportunities are endless when we invest in our community of Columbus,” he told the L-E. “I also learned that being a leader in Columbus means partnering with our stakeholders and peers to create initiatives every day.”
