Leadership Field Trip

Common Ground: Bellmore Leadership Program

Lexi Grima

Mar. 28 2026

In the world we live in today, we can sometimes become divided over our beliefs. This includes politics, religions, and life systems. At the Bellmore Leadership Program (at JFK High School), numerous students from Carle Place High School's Key Club began to speak about controversial topics with other schools. Each of our students was assigned to groups at random through different color bracelets, making the groups diverse, from different schools and different cultural backgrounds. They continued to pick a topic at random and speak to each other. Their goal was to talk about what they believed in, but continue to be open-minded to others. Instead of dividing, they had to unify students together and make new friends, no matter what they believed in. Some of the topics chosen to talk about were abortion, whether race should/shouldn't be included in college applications, and if people should stand for the pledge. It taught me and many other students how to see people for who they are and not just by their beliefs. Would you speak up about your opinion or stay true to yourself?