Leadership lessons
Neighbors | Sarah Foor .AMS student Bryan Presley (right) smiled to himself as he heard McGlynn’s inspirational words about leadership.
Austintown native and Philadelphia Eagles center Mike McGlynn(standing) visited Austintown Middle School on April 5 to talk to a group of students about leadership.
McGlynn was happy to sign some autographs for the Austintown Middle School students after his speech.
Jazmine Dandridge, a student in Dan Schnurrenberger’s class on leadership, took some mental notes during the presentation.
By SARAH FOOR
For the spring semester of the 2010-2011 school year, Austintown Middle School teacher Dan Schnurrenberger and a small group of eighth-grade students have been learning about leadership and studying leaders of all types. On April 5, Schnurrenberger and his students learned about the subject from a local leader, Austintown native and Philadelphia Eagles center Mike McGlynn.
McGlynn visits Austintown schools often to play sports and talk with local students.
“It’s important to me that I come back and support Austintown,” McGlynn explained. “I’m living my dream, and I think there is no reason that these kids can’t achieve the same. When I was their age, I always wished there was someone to tell me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”
McGlynn relayed that message to Schnurrenberger’s leadership class in an informal speech on the subject April 5. During his talk, he outlined the qualities and types of leaders and asked the students the times when leaders need to step up.
“Be motivated to do great things — find a role model that inspires you and be a role model to others,” McGlynn told the students. Although McGlynn understands his responsibility as a role model to Austintown students, he told the eighth-graders to look beyond celebrity.
“It’s not a bad thing to have celebrities that inspire you, but I can assure you there are mentors, coaches and teachers around you who can change your life just as much,” he shared.
After his speech, McGlynn took questions from the students, answering queries about bullying, inspirations and even how much he can bench press.
As McGlynn chatted with the students and signed autographs, Schnurrenberger shared how appreciative he was of the footballer’s visit to his classroom.
“Sports is a wonderful tool to teach about leadership — it’s all about coaches and teams who handle themselves through constant adversity,” Schnurrenberger explained.
“We’re very lucky that Mike is willing to give his time like this and speak on a subject so important to this class. He’s a great guy who really cares about Austintown.”