Leadership

Building Leaders of All Ages

Many Diocesan programs work to instill and improve leadership skills in people of all ages.

Starting early, the Diocese’s summer camp programs offer not only fun in the sun, but also serious leadership training to the next generation of faithful.

From their counselor-training course to their daily examples of leadership, the Diocese’s St. Vartan and Hye Camps are leadership academies. Each year the two camp programs together have about 80 staff, teen counselors, and counselors-in-training. They watch over and lead almost 300 campers in  total.

The counselors-in-training go through daily classes and workshops at both camps focusing on team-building, responsibility, and living a Christian life alongside lifelong friends.

“I don’t think anyone is ever too young to be taught leadership skills,” said Dn. Aren Jebejian, director of Hye Camp, which has counselor-training programs for kids as young as 14. “And these are skills they will use throughout their lives.”

Christina Buchter, a member of the Holy Trinity Church of Cambridge, MA, started going to Diocesan summer camp 11 years ago. Now 22, she spent 2003 as the director of programming at St. Vartan Camp, using the leadership skills she built up as a counselor-in-training, counselor, and office coordinator.

“Camp taught me about leadership. It put me in a role where I actively had to be a leader,” she said. “It taught me a lot through experience and through trying to relate to the kids and the other people I was working with. It also taught me a lot about myself as a person as well: how I work with other people, what things I do well.”

Strengthening today’s leaders

Along with training future leaders, the Diocese is also committed to strengthening today’s leadership. In 2003, the Diocese undertook an effort to give our parish council chairmen the tools and knowledge to make each local parish more successful; first with a meeting of parish council leaders during the 2003 Diocesan Assembly, followed by a gathering at the Diocesan Center in New York City in the fall.

The meetings focused on leadership techniques along with sharing ideas on problems common among the parishes. They also served as a review of the programs and services offered by the Diocese.

“These gatherings allowed face-to-face meetings for parish council chairs with each other, with the Diocesan Council, and with the staff of the Diocese organization,” said Paul Ketchoyian, parish council chairman from the Sts. Vartanantz Church of Chelmsford, MA. “This new personal connection will enhance future communication.”