Youth Leadership Summit at Lake Erie College engages students

Top leaders across varying industries convened on May 17 for the Youth Leadership Summit.

The summit was organized by All Choices Matter and Team IBB and held at Lake Erie College in Painesville to expose area students to career and leadership opportunities.

“The Youth Leadership Summit is a partnership,” said Steve Pelton, who is the president of hChoices, an organization which promotes optimal wellness through technology, education and social engagement. “The thought was to put on a leadership event for sixth- to 12th-graders to hear from leaders in Lake and Geauga counties.”

The goal is for this event to be the first of many, he said.

The speakers delivered energetic, educational and engaging presentations to hundreds of students.

Pelton discussed what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

“Everyone has a chance to be an entrepreneur,” said Pelton, who is also the board chairmen of All Choices Matter.

He said entrepreneurship is about making an impact and changing the world.

An entrepreneur must be self-motivated, not afraid to take risks, self-confident, a hard worker, disciplined, dedicated, adaptable, optimistic, persuasive, self-aware, a life-learner, an effective communicator and able to close the deal.

While the students may not own their own businesses, Pelton said everyone in the room was an entrepreneur.

He reminded them that everyone has a brand and they are in control of their individual brand.

Knowtion CEO Sanjay Parker discussed how the workforce is changing.

“Right now because of technology, we are at the beginning of a second machine age in which we are going to use technology to amplify cognitive power and thinking the way we used machines to amplify muscle power,” Parker said. “The changes will be so great that it will impact everyone. There’s never been a better time to have highly specialized skills and never been a worse time to have ordinary skills.”

As a result of the increase in technology, automation and artificial intelligence, he emphasized that career fields are changing.

It is predicted that in the future there will not be a need for telemarketers and transactional jobs like loan officers, he said.

Parker encouraged the students to challenge themselves, be hands-on and always willing to learn.

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