Atascadero News (CA) - Local students attend national conference

August 3, 2007

Two local students recently stepped outside of the virtual classroom to attend a national leadership conference in Philadelphia.

Joshua Burkett, a 15-year-old Atascadero resident, and Mike Dannebaum, a 17-year-old resident of Atascadero and Santa Margarita, both participate in the virtual high school classes offered through K12 Inc.

Burkett, who will be a sophomore in the K12 high school program this fall, and Dannebaum, who will be a junior, both said their parents were the factor in the choice to write an essay to attend the conference. However, both also said they ultimately enjoyed the experience.

"We thought it would be cool to have him broaden his horizons," Burkett’s mother Juliann said.

In order to participate, both young men had to write an essay about their civic involvement and experiences learning in a virtual public school. As a part of the K12 program, the students have teachers for each core subject in addition to a homeroom teacher that they communicate with via the Internet.

"I wrote about how I have been helping the community and how I would like to help the community," Burkett said of his essay.

Burkett began his involvement with scouting as a first-grader and continues to be active in Atascadero Boy Scout Troop No. 101, where he has achieved the rank of second class. He has volunteered at a Cub Scout day camp for four years and wrote about his experiences in scouting for his essay. In addition, the young man addressed some future leadership goals.

"If I could I would like to do a fundraiser or something to help the library expansion fund in town because I really enjoy reading and it's something I would like to see happen," he said.

Dannebaum also volunteers at the Cub Scout day camp and did a number of community service projects as a Boy Scout. It was these experiences that he addressed in his essay.

Once chosen, both young men traveled to Villanova University in Philadelphia along with 27 other students from California.

They arrived in Philadelphia on July 25 and were joined by students from Ohio, Washington, Colorado and Arizona to take part in the three-day Making Waves Leadership Camp. A total of 60 students from seventh to 10th grade took part in the camp that, according to organizers, was designed to encourage students to make "big waves" in their communities.

Both young men said they learned skills such as public speaking and Burkett said he also learned skills such as time and stress management through the camp. Both also participated in a number of team building activities and at the camp"s conclusion put the skills they learned into action with the creation of a theoretical community service project.

Burkett's team was selected to organize several community clean up events, a task that involved planning, advertising and finding sponsors. The team then had to present their proposal to the group.

"They try and do environmental things to get kids aware of the environment around them and the importance of keeping it in good shape," Juliann said.

The Central Coast residents spent a day sight seeing in the area and got the chance to see items and places of historical interest such as the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. They even ate Philly cheese steaks, a sandwich Burkett called "the best thing ever."

"I had a great time," he said of his trip.

"I think it broadened his horizons," Juliann said. "We live in a little corner of the world and there's so much out there they don’t really know."

Juilann said that once her son is exposed to something "he picks it up really quickly and really runs with it."

Burkett's hobbyies include working with electronics, especially computers. He is currently working on upgrading a computer and operates the sound system for his youth group at the Atascadero First Assembly of God Church each Sunday. He wants to attend college and become a computer service technician.

Dannebaum’s hobbies include playing on the computer and coin collecting. He hopes to be a screenwriter someday.

"It was pretty fun," he said when asked about the leadership camp and added his favorite parts were eating free food and meeting new friends.