Mirror Image Leadership Academy finished its first international trip with students, marking the first class to work all the way through the three-year program.  

The group of scholars traveled to Ghana for seven days, from July 23-30. On the trip, the group took part in a naming ceremony, visited the Last Slave Bath and Cape Coast Castle to see the remains of the slave trade and meet with peer Ghanaian students.  

Based in Gainesville, the academy aims to help young black men discover the leader within, and the curriculum rests on trips that expose the students to local, national and international experiences.  

The academy started in 2021 and has 51 scholars this year. The program is offered to students in the local school system starting in the seventh grade.  

“The highlight of the trip was the scholar’s enrichment, education, and exposure,” James Miller, the academy’s executive director, said in a press release. “One scholar said he now understands that, ‘Being enslaved, doesn’t just mean physically but mentally enslaved too.’”  

The academy is completely funded through local donations.  

“This incredible experience for our scholars was only made possible by the generous donations of our supporters,” Greg Bradley, the academy founder, said in the release.