Solomon-White Leadership AKAdemy
The Solomon-White Leadership AKAdemy (SWLA) was proposed by Soror Bonnie C. Atwater while she was the president of Gamma Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® – (2008-2011). The members of the chapter approved the concept to acknowledge the exceptional leadership of Soror Norma Solomon White. Soror Norma Solomon White served as president of Gamma Rho Omega Chapter for two four-year terms, as South Atlantic Regional Director of the Sorority (Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina), International President-Elect of the Sorority, and the 25th International President of the Sorority.
The concept was fully implemented in 2015 with the cooperation of Soror Betty S. Burney founder of the I’m A STAR Foundation and lead by Soror Beverly E. Shields. The participants were and are students in grades six through twelve who are part of the I’m A STAR Foundation. The STARs are Smart, Talented, and Resilient Students.
The STARs usually meet on the second and fourth Saturday morning for the SWLA and to work on service projects (e.g., fundraiser for homeless students, summits such as the “Youth-Led Mental Health Summit", to organize to participate in the Gamma Rho Omega Chapter’s Scholarship 101 Workshop, and to produce podcasts posted on YouTube and the I’m A STAR website.
Some of the topics covered during the SWLA sessions have included: Effective Communication, The Essentials of Leadership, How to Conduct Meetings Effectively and Efficiently, How Not to Sabotage Yourself, Motivational Leadership, Leveraging Relations, Networking, Lessons from the Pandemic, Personal Finances, Ethical Leadership, How to Run for Office, and Leadership Skills in the Business and Corporate Environment. Members of the Gamma Rho Omega Chapter have appeared in the I’m A STAR podcasts. These “Generation Swap Podcasts” involved sorors and STARs teaching each other. These podcasts where the sorors taught the STARs included: The Power of Thank You and Handwritten Notes, How to Stretch a Dollar, Credit – Getting It and The Value of a Good Credit Score. The podcasts where STARs were the teachers included – Current Slang, The Features of Smartphones – Android and iPhone, and Social Media Abbreviations.
