High School Leaders Program Class of 2022
Day 3: Monday, July 11
Reported by: Aditi Bhattacharjya, Oakton High School and Jayla Underwood, Bruton High School
We rose bright and early this morning for our first day of class at Sorensen HSLP! After breakfast at O-Hill, we headed to our first class: Ethics in Public Service, taught by Ms. Sarah Campbell. In true UVA spirit, we started with a Thomas Jefferson quote: “Politics is such a torment that I advise everyone I love not to mix with it.” However, this morning’s class on ethics was not a torment in the least! We discussed the ideal leader and what values they must represent, as well as finding common ground through the value-tactics pyramid. Then we delved into ethics, exploring the five tests for ethics, ethical dilemmas, various decision-making principles, and more. One particularly interesting ethical dilemma involved a long grocery list, a hobbling grandma, and a single cart. We had a great time debating various scenarios as a class and in smaller groups.
After we came back from lunch, we dived into a class region discussion. We were split into the regions we represent throughout Virginia. Nova, Charlottesville/Southside, Hampton Roads, and Richmond. We were tasked with finding five strengths and weaknesses that can be seen throughout our various regions, as well finding three strengths and weaknesses throughout Virginia as a whole. We were given thirty minutes to come up with our answers, and then we came together as a group to share our findings. And we all agreed that the education system has many pros and cons in Virginia, and that the state is extremely diverse and inclusive.
In the evening, many students decided to take advantage of the free slurpees being offered at 7/11 due to today’s special date- 7/11! After a golden hour walk and some delicious slurpees, we returned to our suites to work on readings for tomorrow (including the Virginia Constitution) and spend some quality time with our suitemates.
