On Monday, February 13, Ms. Heintz took her Modern European History/University Western Civilization class and other interested students to attend a speech by Mississippi’s former governor, Haley Barbour.

Governor Barbour served in Mississippi from 2004 to 2012, and helped Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina. The flier handed out at the event stated that “Gov. Barbour received national recognition from the bipartisan American Legislative Exchange Council for his swift response to the worst natural disaster in American history.

Governor Barbour spoke about his own experiences in government and shared the valuable leadership skills he learned.

Some of the main points of Governor Barbour’s speech were on the significance of honesty, especially for the cooperation and trust of teams, which are essential to political success.

Governor Barbour also discussed the importance of accepting blame and spreading recognition. Doing so, he said, also contributes to the cooperation of a team and overall success.

“Leadership is not about bossing people around,” he said. “The leader has to work the hardest… [he is] not someone who gets put on a pedestal.”

Near the end, Governor Barbour expressed his aims for the country’s future and his hope that President Trump would be more available to work for Congress.
In his conclusion, Governor Barbour made a call for the next generation to make a difference in Mississippi. He said, “I hope you leave here with the commitment, ‘I’m going to be a leader, I’m going to make a difference.’ Because our state is small enough, that you can.”