High School Leadership Rome is a program sponsored by the Rome-Floyd County Chamber that selects students to enter the program. This year Darlington School was represented by five students, Hayden Baldwin, Abby Burris, Savannah Corbin, Veeka Malanchuk and Grace Watters. In Rome Leadership, the students experience the current leadership in Rome and learn about the community as a whole.

“It was extremely eye opening being able to see just how many businesses and opportunities there are in here. We were able to understand everything that goes into making this community what it is, and how we can be leaders here in Rome,” sophomore Abby Burris said.

Some students had lived in Rome their whole life and enjoyed experiencing their hometown.

“Leadership Rome was an incredible experience that I am so thankful I could be a part of. I loved learning about my home city of Rome,” sophomore Savannah Corbin said.

The students favorite experience was observing the criminal justice system of Floyd County.

“The jail was my favorite place to go in Rome Leadership because it gave me a look into an entirely different world I felt like I had never previously understood, or really even acknowledged,” Burris said. “It was terrifying and exciting at the same time as it’s not a piece of the world I usually see, and to have a glimpse into what it’s like for the criminals of our city was eye opening.”

Rome Leadership also prepares students to be the future leaders of Rome.

“I really enjoyed Leadership Rome and getting to learn about the different parts of our community and how that has an affect on our generation,” sophomore Grace Watters said.

The students also got to meet people from every school in the Rome-Floyd County area.

“I absolutely loved being a part of Rome Leadership. It was such an amazing opportunity to get to see what makes Rome work,” junior Hayden Baldwin said. “My favorite part was getting to know students from other schools in the area that I might not have gotten to meet if I had not participated in the program.”