Rogers Scholars scale Alpine Tower

Rogers Scholar Taylor Agathen of Taylor County knew the climb to the top of the 55-foot Alpine Tower at the Team Leadership Center in Wayne County would be difficult, but she was determined to reach her goal.

With a positive attitude and words of encouragement from her team members, Agathen started the climb and successfully reached the top platform of the tower.

“I felt very accomplished,” said a determined Agathen. “Yes! I had done it.”

While Agathen celebrated her victory, Rogers Scholar Brock Finley of Lawrence County watched from the sidelines.

Finley injured his right shoulder in a skiing accident two days before the start of the Rogers Scholars program and was not able to make the climb.

Disappointed at first, Finley said Rogers Scholars rallied around him to lend their support and went out of their way to make him feel a part of the team.

In one of the team-building exercises, where Rogers Scholars had to carry a bucket of water across logs while tethered to a rope, Finley said he walked beside his team members to show his encouragement and to motivate them to make it to the finish line.

“It had a lot of fun,” said Finley, a student at Lawrence County High School. “Everyone here is a leader.”

The first class of the 2012 Rogers Scholars spent Monday working together as a group to build their leadership skills in a series of team-building exercises led by Norrie Wake and his staff at the Team Leadership Center.

On Tuesday, Scholars will attend an entrepreneurial training session in the morning and visit with representatives from some of the region’s leading colleges and universities in the afternoon at a career fair. Scheduled activities for Tuesday night include a formal dinner and etiquette training and afterwards a trip around the dance floor for some ballroom dancing.

Rogers Scholars arrived at The Center for Rural Development on Sunday and will be on the grounds the remainder of the week until Friday’s graduation ceremony in The Center’s theatre.

The program provides leadership and scholarship opportunities for rising high school juniors from Southern and Eastern Kentucky to build their skills as the region’s next generation of business and entrepreneurial leaders.

Click here to see additional photos taken Monday at the Team Leadership Center.

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