NorFolk County Team Rival
Blue Hills Regional High School student looking at the projector
November 23, 2021
The Norfolk County Team Rival Conference served the purpose of training student leaders to influence their school in order to create a kind community. Students were recommended based on their leadership skills by school administrators, an estimated 300 students attended. This peer leadership conference took place at the Norfolk County District Attorney office at Gillette Stadium. Representatives from Arbella Insurance and AAA were also present during the meeting.
Holbrook Middle-High School was represented by James Casna, Alicia Kilian, Jshawa Solomon, Kelvin Mungai, Johann Rodriguez-Viera, Amy Yip, Emma Pepe, Mary Walker, and Mia Carter.
The meeting consisted of two stories of young inspirational leaders, service dog benefits, and an identity evaluation.
Mary Clougher, civics advisor, has been a strong supporter of this event for years. “A student-runned program like this empowers students and hopefully will empower other members of the school community to realize just how important kindness is.”
Mary Walker, junior, explained how this event helped how she perceived herself and others.
Joe Halus has been a motivational speaker at these types of conferences for the past 4-5 years. “I think that the team rival program is important because it gives young folks the tools that they need to make a difference, it makes them vulnerable especially today.” He continued by saying, “It gives them an opportunity to learn more about themselves. Not only more about them, but how they interact with groups and how they interact with different members of that group.”
This event is a bracket program where schools compete against each other to earn a certain number of points. Points are awarded by completing several activities which involve the school’s participation.
The stories of Haley Cremer and Sam Berns were shared with the students and chaperones by the family members of the young leaders.
Haley Cremer was an influential student at Sharon High School who was one of ten recipients to receive the first Norfolk County Peer Leadership Award by Michael W. Morrissey, district attorney. Haley was unfortunately struck and killed by a driver whose license has been suspended back in 2014. Ever since her death, Haley’s family has carried on her legacy by creating the Haley Cremer Foundation. You can support their foundation at https://www.haleycremerfoundation.org/.
American activist, Sam Berns, was a teenager who suffered from progeria, a disease which causes premature aging. Sam appeared on the Tedx program in October 2013, openly speaking about his struggles about progeria and overcoming obstacles faced against him. You’ll be able to watch his inspirational video at https://bit.ly/3HMKuBM. Sam tragically lost his battle to progeria in 2014, at the age of 17.
Leslie Berns, Sam’s mother and pediatric researcher, has been tirelessly working to find a cure for this fatal disease. “I kind of just want my mom to be done with progeria for her sake, because my mom will keep working forever until progeria is cured,” Berns quoted in an interview to ABC in 2013. Scott Berns, Sam’s father, has also kept his sons’ memory alive by spreading the principles that Sam went by.
Additional information about the conference can be found on https://www.nfkda.com/peerleadership.html.
