RATHDRUM — Firm handshakes, soft skills. The two go hand in hand.

“Saying your first and last name, saying, ‘Nice to meet you,’ a smile and eye contact,” Madelyn Gunderson, 10, said Thursday, Feb. 26, before she participated in the February "Shake Off" handshake competition at John Brown Elementary School.

Students enjoyed lessons on first impressions as they shook off their nerves and took turns entering a classroom one by one to introduce themselves to Lakeland Joint School District dignitaries.

“It’s to introduce yourself better,” 11-year-old Sam Fitzell said.

Fifth graders are rotating through the John Brown Student Leadership and Service Program, a new initiative that aims to help students build leadership skills, foster a sense of responsibility and instill a passion for serving their school and community. With a new cohort of students each month, the program ensures all fifth graders will have service and leadership experiences before they leave John Brown.

“We just wanted to give all kids the opportunity to see themselves as leaders,” Principal Shannon Rider said.

Rider, who is in her first year at John Brown, spent 10 years working with secondary students. It helped her understand the need to practice these skills, such as emotional intelligence, resilience, and leadership, at a younger age.

“I wanted our fifth graders to go into middle school confident and ready for whatever they might need to introduce themselves for, so that they’re not nervous to try for student leadership or band or something like that," Rider said.

During the Shake Off events, participating adults double as judges who evaluate students on their presentation, which includes eye contact, confidence, posture, vocal clarity and overall impression.

“They get jobs at 14, a lot of them do, so we just want them to feel ready in their soft skills," Rider said.

The John Brown Student Leadership and Service Program encourages students to offer feedback. It connects them with their community and service learning rather than popularity-based leadership.

Rider engages with the fifth graders once a week during Leadership Lunches.

"I ask them questions like, ‘What works well at John Brown?’ ‘What would you see as being an improvement project?’ Their perspectives and ideas have been really cool, stuff that I didn’t expect," she said. "It’s been great to get to connect closely with a smaller group of kids, so I love that."

Ben Gallinger, 10, said he was nervous he'd mess up a little during the handshake exercise, but he understood the importance of it.

“It’s just preparing us for the future,” he said.

According to Science News Today, first impressions are among the most powerful and misunderstood psychological forces in human interaction. 

"They are not just social niceties," a June 22, 2025, article states. "They are neurological survival mechanisms, sculpted by evolution and wired into our brains. In many ways, they shape the trajectory of relationships, careers and even entire lives."

Lakeland Superintendent Rusty Taylor was happy to serve as one of the handshake recipients and as a Shake Off judge. He said he was impressed by the kids, especially the second group of participants.

“It’s just really neat,” he said. "It’s wonderful you can practice these things to represent yourself."

    John Brown Elementary fifth grader Sam Fitzell introduces himself to Lakeland School District Chief Financial Officer Jessica Grantham during a handshake competition Thursday, Feb. 26.
  

    Fifth grader Madelyn Gunderson, 10, gives Lakeland School District Nutrition Director Chaar Boyd a hearty handshake Thursday, Feb. 26, during a handshake competition at John Brown Elementary School in Rathdrum.