The Philadelphia Inquirer - Youth Leadership Program - Dilworthtown Inn Tutorial with Joan Stokely

Promising students visit QVC, Dilworthtown Inn

The Youth Leadership Program is aimed at stemming the "brain drain" of top students to jobs elsewhere.

By Will Hobson

For The Inquirer

Chester County, like much of Pennsylvania, suffers from what has been termed the "brain drain." The county's brightest minds, students who travel to colleges across the country to earn their degrees, all too often don't find the Pennsylvania job market plentiful enough.

College internships in the cities where they go to school often lead to job opportunities there, and Chester County misses out on the contributions of its homegrown talent: people who instead find success in New York, Boston or Washington.

Now there's an attempt to stem this loss of talent. It's called the Youth Leadership Program (YLP), an initiative of the Chester County Chamber of Commerce.

Started in 1998, the program has flourished in the last two years under the leadership of Kim Hall, vice president of operations for the Chamber. Bringing the county's brightest students together to meet area business leaders and learn how to hit the ground running after college, the program has been a big hit with all involved.

"By introducing kids to the business community locally, they have connections in this area, so that no matter where they go to college, they can return for internships, and hopefully after graduation for jobs," Hall said.

The YLP, funded entirely by the Chamber and the participating companies, offers one day of events each month, from November to May, to its students. A record 46 students from 13 schools in the county are involved this year, up from 30 in 2005-06.

"It gave me a lot of confidence," said Megan Hansler, a senior at West Chester East and a graduate of last year's YLP. "It introduced me to a lot of professionals, and taught me so much about how to succeed."

This year's first day of events, with the theme "Exploring the Channels of Communication," took the students to QVC's headquarters in West Chester, where they received a behind-the-scenes tour of the shopping network and spoke with a marketing representative.

The students then headed over to the Dilworthtown Inn, where they ate lunch with Joan Stokely, an etiquette expert and president of the Society of Diplomacy. Stokely gave an eye-opening presentation on business and dining etiquette.

"It was definitely revealing," said Matthew Young, a junior at West Chester East. "She [Stokely] really emphasized focusing on your mannerisms, and the importance of first impressions."

The students then returned to the Chamber itself, where Sarah Moran from the Daily Local News, Nancy Cooney from The Inquirer, and local author Bruce Mowday held a panel discussion on journalism.

"Journalism is something that I've never really considered," said Jeff Cole, a senior at Bishop Shanahan, "but it was really interesting to hear where the writers came from, the stories they've written."

Future events include a trip to Washington to meet with congressional staffers, a tour of Cephalon's headquarters and a meeting with chief executive officer Frank Baldino, and a tour of Exelon Energy's headquarters in Kennett Square.

The YLP is open to any juniors or seniors in Chester County who have a grade-point average of 3.0 or above. Those interested should contact their principal or guidance office about applying.

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