The fourth annual Butler County Youth Leadership Program will get underway Monday at Slippery Rock University and conclude with three days of leadership training and activities at Butler County Community College.

Developed as a class project from Leadership Butler County, which is sponsored by the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, the youth program aims to teach high school students about leadership.

The youth leadership program was the Leadership Butler County project from the class of 2017, which included Karen Brackett, vice president of Preferred Corporate Service for NexTier Bank, who serves as co-chairperson of the youth leadership program.

“This youth leadership program was set up to allow high school students to experience and understand what Butler County has to offer. We want people to live, work and play in Butler County,” Brackett said.

She said 20 11th-grade students from the county are participating in this year's program, which runs from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Monday's activities at SRU begin with a welcome from Provost Abbey Zink, an overview by the program's board of directors and a leadership class taught by Erin Strain, SRU's director of leadership development.

On Tuesday at BC3, the students will learn about county government and use leadership skills. The day begins with breakfast with the county commissioners and includes programs with county sheriff deputy Harry Callithen and his K-9 officer Justice, drug task force chief detective Tim Fennell, Jason Beckwith from Action in Recovery, and Dan Hudock of Sandler Training in Wexford.

Wednesday's program at BC3 will focus on entrepreneurship with a breakfast and panel discussion with Marine veteran and entrepreneur Brandon Rumbaugh, Kenny Bonus of Bonus Accounting, Julie Baez Prebula of the Slippery Rock Golf Club and Event Center, and Megan Pohl and Jessica Brewster-Batch of Batch in Saxonburg.

Developing personal branding and body language will be the topics on the final day, Thursday, at BC3.