Student Leaders Honored in Second Annual SKIL Awards Reception

The future never looked brighter than it did Wednesday, May 17, night at The MarqSouthlake. City leaders, Mayor Laura Hill, CISD trustees, parents and students involved in the SKIL (Southlake Kids Interested in Leadership) program convened to celebrate the end of the program’s successful second year.

SKIL is a youth leadership program created in partnership between the City of Southlake, the Carroll Independent School District and the Southlake Chamber of Commerce. The program’s mission is to enhance engagement with the city’s youth through education and leadership opportunities, or, in Mayor Hill’s words, “to give the kids a seat at the table.”

Before Mayor Hill took the stage to discuss the program and bestow accolades upon the SKIL participants, Daniel Cortez opened the evening with some remarks about the program.

Cortez, the program’s City staff liaison, spoke about how proud he was of this year’s SKIL group, which includes 20 juniors from Carroll Senior High School. After starting the program in October, the group visited various departments throughout the city, and also visited the capitol in Austin to learn about leadership at the state level.

The program’s second year culminated with a presentation to City Council on Tuesday night, followed by the awards reception on Tuesday. During the ceremony, Mayor Hill awarded each student with a plaque and a Certificate of Achievement. Carroll Senior High teacher Eddie Morman, Chamber President Mark Guilbert and CISD Superintendent Dr. David Faltys also spoke about their pride in the program, but the Mayor wasn’t finished doling out awards to the crop of talented Dragons.

SKIL student Ganeev Kaur was awarded $2,500 for the college of her choice, and Kaur currently plans to study medicine after graduating from Carroll Senior High in 2018. Furthermore, Kaur will be interning in State Representative Giovanni Capriglione’s office this summer—just one example of the stellar work being done by the motivated students in the SKIL program.

Applications for next year’s SKIL group will open up in August, and next year’s group will have big shoes to fill. As Morman said, “There’s no doubt about it—these kids are the best of the best.”

Visit the City website to learn more about the SKIL program.