Christian Miller '21 Attends National Student Leadership at Yale University
Archmere Mock Trial member Christian Miller '21 spent a few weeks last summer at Yale University at the National Student Leadership Conference. The National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) provides a select group of outstanding high school students with the opportunity to participate in fast-paced, high-level, interactive summer sessions. Through the NSLC, students are able to experience life on a college campus; develop essential leadership skills; and explore a future career through exciting simulations, exclusive site visits and interactive meetings with renowned leaders in their chosen field. Christian participated in a 9 day "Law and Advocacy" program focused on the legal system.
Christian reflected on his experience, writing the following:
During the school year I was sent a notice informing me that I had been selected to attend the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) at Yale University and take a nine-day course from a list of a multitude of subjects. The list consisted of a wide variety of options, including nursing, engineering, and business, but I decided on the “Law and Advocacy” option. I have had law in my sights as a potential option for a future career, so I decided to give it a go to gauge whether it would be a viable path for me. Although initially I was apprehensive, since I had never spent so much time away from home with totally new people before, I found it astonishingly easy to relax once I was introduced to the group. Since the program consisted of students from all over the United States (and an assortment of international students), I quickly realized that everyone else was in the same boat as me.
The Law and Advocacy program that I chose was unique in that it consisted of three separate “sections". Since the curriculum was one about the legal system, a considerable portion of the time spent was at lectures by top Yale professor Noah Messing. Almost every day the law students and I would walk through New Haven to one of Yale's sizable lecture halls to hear about the procedures of direct examinations, opening statements, and the like. In addition, due to Professor Messing’s unique position as a lecturer at the best law school in the world, the other students and I received valuable information on the Law School admission process. We learned about procedures for application and the ways factors like the LSAT and recommendation letters weigh in. On the leadership side of the spectrum, each day all of the students from the law program would attend activities intended to bolster each of our ability to lead effectively. Some of these activities were more fun in nature, like the time we were randomly selected, two at a time, to publicly debate on topics in popular culture. Others were more serious, often intended to provide a perspective on the ways that other people we interact with daily may have had radically different life experiences than us, and how considering these differences can result in more effective leadership. A notable aspect of this section was the use of a personality test to guide and structure later activities. This survey assessed each student’s leadership and cooperation style and gave details about engagement with those of other styles. The knowledge and understanding of how others perceive challenges and situations allowed my peers and I to look deeper into conflict resolution techniques and application of empathy in leadership opportunities. The third section, which combined the two, included sessions in which the law students would separate into smaller groups for a mixed discussion/mock trial brainstorm. Working with the theme of law and advocacy, throughout the week we worked with our college-age mentors to essentially flesh out a full mock trial case, both prosecution and defense, that was presented in the local courthouse on the penultimate day of the program. These mock trial development sessions would often begin with a discussion of the leadership activity that had been done earlier that day, in order for people to share their opinions and thoughts. The ability to see the various perspectives of all the people in my group and the opportunity to consider other angles on different issues were aspects of the trip I found most valuable.
The program was not all work and no play, however. Field trips and fun activities were offered almost every day to allow for socializing with other groups studying different fields, in addition to simply being incredibly enjoyable. These social functions consisted of dances, trip to a ropes course, and even an afternoon in New York. The best one, however, was a “guess the song” competition in the dining hall. All of the groups from all the practices came together to compete in small teams to see who had the most knowledge of the songs of generations past and present. Not only was singing along to once-forgotten tunes with my new friends a blast, but it was also an activity that allowed me to see just how different the cultures of the kids just a few states over happened to be.
During all of the social, academic, and leadership-oriented events, I was able to learn a lot about not only myself but also hear from those around me. I found that after my departure from Yale on the last day, I felt more confident and I realized that I was much more willing to try new things more than I had ever been before. I still keep in touch with a lot of the kids I made connections with, even though they may live in Tennessee, Los Angeles, Texas, or the Netherlands. After meeting so many new people with different types of interests and cultures, I learned to take a more open approach to meeting and interacting with anyone and everyone, whether they share my interests or not. This program inspired me not only to be more outgoing in the social sphere, but also to take a more active role in my extracurricular activities in the academic one. As a result of this desire to engage more, I decided to try out for the Mock Trial club here at Archmere, something I would’ve been much too apprehensive to do before. I miss the Yale experience (but not the lack of air conditioning) greatly, and I’m excited to explore similar things in the future.
During the school year I was sent a notice informing me that I had been selected to attend the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) at Yale University and take a nine-day course from a list of a multitude of subjects. The list consisted of a wide variety of options, including nursing, engineering, and business, but I decided on the “Law and Advocacy” option. I have had law in my sights as a potential option for a future career, so I decided to give it a go to gauge whether it would be a viable path for me. Although initially I was apprehensive, since I had never spent so much time away from home with totally new people before, I found it astonishingly easy to relax once I was introduced to the group. Since the program consisted of students from all over the United States (and an assortment of international students), I quickly realized that everyone else was in the same boat as me.
The Law and Advocacy program that I chose was unique in that it consisted of three separate “sections". Since the curriculum was one about the legal system, a considerable portion of the time spent was at lectures by top Yale professor Noah Messing. Almost every day the law students and I would walk through New Haven to one of Yale's sizable lecture halls to hear about the procedures of direct examinations, opening statements, and the like. In addition, due to Professor Messing’s unique position as a lecturer at the best law school in the world, the other students and I received valuable information on the Law School admission process. We learned about procedures for application and the ways factors like the LSAT and recommendation letters weigh in. On the leadership side of the spectrum, each day all of the students from the law program would attend activities intended to bolster each of our ability to lead effectively. Some of these activities were more fun in nature, like the time we were randomly selected, two at a time, to publicly debate on topics in popular culture. Others were more serious, often intended to provide a perspective on the ways that other people we interact with daily may have had radically different life experiences than us, and how considering these differences can result in more effective leadership. A notable aspect of this section was the use of a personality test to guide and structure later activities. This survey assessed each student’s leadership and cooperation style and gave details about engagement with those of other styles. The knowledge and understanding of how others perceive challenges and situations allowed my peers and I to look deeper into conflict resolution techniques and application of empathy in leadership opportunities. The third section, which combined the two, included sessions in which the law students would separate into smaller groups for a mixed discussion/mock trial brainstorm. Working with the theme of law and advocacy, throughout the week we worked with our college-age mentors to essentially flesh out a full mock trial case, both prosecution and defense, that was presented in the local courthouse on the penultimate day of the program. These mock trial development sessions would often begin with a discussion of the leadership activity that had been done earlier that day, in order for people to share their opinions and thoughts. The ability to see the various perspectives of all the people in my group and the opportunity to consider other angles on different issues were aspects of the trip I found most valuable.
The program was not all work and no play, however. Field trips and fun activities were offered almost every day to allow for socializing with other groups studying different fields, in addition to simply being incredibly enjoyable. These social functions consisted of dances, trip to a ropes course, and even an afternoon in New York. The best one, however, was a “guess the song” competition in the dining hall. All of the groups from all the practices came together to compete in small teams to see who had the most knowledge of the songs of generations past and present. Not only was singing along to once-forgotten tunes with my new friends a blast, but it was also an activity that allowed me to see just how different the cultures of the kids just a few states over happened to be.
During all of the social, academic, and leadership-oriented events, I was able to learn a lot about not only myself but also hear from those around me. I found that after my departure from Yale on the last day, I felt more confident and I realized that I was much more willing to try new things more than I had ever been before. I still keep in touch with a lot of the kids I made connections with, even though they may live in Tennessee, Los Angeles, Texas, or the Netherlands. After meeting so many new people with different types of interests and cultures, I learned to take a more open approach to meeting and interacting with anyone and everyone, whether they share my interests or not. This program inspired me not only to be more outgoing in the social sphere, but also to take a more active role in my extracurricular activities in the academic one. As a result of this desire to engage more, I decided to try out for the Mock Trial club here at Archmere, something I would’ve been much too apprehensive to do before. I miss the Yale experience (but not the lack of air conditioning) greatly, and I’m excited to explore similar things in the future.
Archmere Academy is a private, Catholic, college preparatory co-educational academy,
grades 9-12 founded in 1932 by the Norbertine Fathers.
grades 9-12 founded in 1932 by the Norbertine Fathers.
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