2026 HSLP: Day 6
High School Leaders Program Class of 2026
Day 6: Thursday, July 16
Reported by Charlie Smith, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, and Elle Bellanca, Lightridge High School
After a fulfilling breakfast at O’Hill Dining Hall, we went to Shannon House to participate in a resume workshop administered by the UVA Career Center. We were taught how to correctly format a resume to make it easy to digest, and for future employers or schools to have quick and streamlined access to the essential information relating to the position one is applying for. The knowledgeable volunteers additionally taught us what kind of information is required on a resume to receive the best results. We also learned how to diversify our resumes by participating in programs and getting involved in our communities to make us better applicants. Lastly for this lesson, we were introduced to how to write a professional cover letter for a job application. The career center volunteers provided keen insight into how we can best format a cover letter, and how to approach it to get the results we want.
After the resume workshop concluded, Kayla Mock, the Political and Legislative Director of United Food and Commercial Union Local 400 came to speak to us about the history of unions, and how they are affected by our local government. She is a 26-year union member, and a 15-year union staffer. She started her career at Giant, then was later recruited to join the UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers) staff. There are 1.3 million members of UFCW in the US and Canada, and it is only one of the many unions which help keep our country equitable. The job of unions is to bring representation for the full work force, incite political and community action, and to organize opportunities for workers to stand up for themselves. Unions were all made possible when FDR signed into law the National Labor Relations Act. To cap off the lesson, we learned about right-to-work states. After Lunch we had a class on the thoughtful and informed Citizen with Ms. Heubeck where we explored the history of The Virginia Way and how it has shaped Virginia's government. We learned how Virginia's different constitutions show how political rights changed over time.The Constitution of 1776 included ideas such as natural rights and popular sovereignty but voting was mainly limited to wealthy white landowners. The constitution of 1868 expanded voting rights during Reconstruction and allowed more African Americans to participate in government. However, the Constitution of 1902 created poll taxes and difficult voting tests that were designed to prevent Black citizens from voting. These restrictions also affected many poor white citizens. The constitution of 1970 later removed voting restrictions and attempted to make Virginia's government and education system more efficient. We also discussed how Virginia was often controlled by a small political business elite. In addition, we looked through history textbooks dating back all the way to 1889 and present textbooks. It was interesting to see how writers back in the day approached teaching history. The Virginia way has positive qualities regarding ethical behavior. However, the problem occurs when civility is used to avoid discussing inequality or corruption. Moving forward, Virginia should keep up with respectful leadership while increasing government transparency.