Bay Head student attends leadership conference in D.C. – Star News Group

BAY HEAD — Roman Ritacco, rising seventh-grader at Bay Head Elementary School, was nominated by one of his teachers to attend the WorldStrides leadership conference in Washington, D.C. for a week-long experience on how to become a better leader.

Roman has just returned from this event, which took place all last week. He was nominated by science teacher Laurén Galarza. 

Ms. Galarza said to The Ocean Star, “It was a pleasure to nominate a student who is always looking for opportunities to gain knowledge and experience no matter what the topic is. Roman likes a challenge and taking what he learns inside the classroom to new levels. As a member of Student Council this year, he was always offering a helping hand and working towards trying new things. I am so happy he attended the Leadership Conference this summer and I look forward to experiencing what he gained from this opportunity and how he shares it in the classroom and outside of school.”

This conference teaches young students how to hone their skills to become better leaders by teaching them leadership skills through a  variety of events, presentations, speakers and seminars, according to Roman. 

Roman also got the opportunity to visit many historic monuments and places at the nation’s capital, his favorite among them being the trip to Mount Vernon. He said it was “cool” to see where George Washington had lived at the start of our nation. 

“I had a lot of fun. It was a really great experience. I really liked Mount Vernon. It felt so cool to be in the house that George Washinton once lived in,” said Roman.

Roman also said he made many new friends from across the country at the conference, especially when he was given a project by event organizers with other attendees. The project was to choose a particular issue facing America today. Roman and his team had chosen how to combat global warming. 

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