The 2012 National Youth Leadership Training Launches a Year of Service

The morning of Saturday, July 21 may have been an ordinary one for most, but for the students, mentors, staff, and volunteers that participated in NYLC's National Youth Leadership Training in Sandstone, Minn., time stood still as new friends hugged goodbye and soaked in the memories from their week together.

NYLC’s youth initiative staff planned this annual in-person training, bringing together high school-aged youth and mentors from more than a dozen different communities across the U.S. During the week, attendees experienced activities and participated in workshops that explored diversity, equity, team-building, service-learning, and how to work with a team to create a plan that addresses pressing issues.

"Hearing the stories of how they bonded with their primary groups, the challenges during immersion and morals and ethics, how their perspectives had changed, and most importantly what they wanted to bring back home to their communities was a true testament to the power of relationships and experiences they had at NYLT," said Whitney McKinley, professional development manager at NYLC. "Being able to take a few moments to step out of the facilitator’s role to simply listen and reflect was easily the best part of the week for me."

One of the goals of NYLT is for students to leave with "an enhanced awareness of social, political, and environmental issues, including the achievement gap." To this end, NYLC staff trained participants using Smart. Youth Solutions to the Achievement Gap™, which includes a student handbook and facilitator guide designed to help teams of youth plan how they can help bridge the achievement gap in their own local communities. The training also includes national research on education statistics, sample community survey questions, and templates for creating a high-quality service-learning action plan.

"One of my biggest hopes for next year is that we will be able to bring the NYLT experience to more youth,” stated McKinley. “Each and every participant this year brought an amazing story and a unique perspective to the NYLT community and in the future I hope that we can offer that experience to a larger cohort of students.”

During the next school year, participants will be working in partnership with adult mentors to implement the service-learning action plans they created at NYLT. Though the achievement gap continues to affect countless schools and communities across the nation, this group of young leaders now has the knowledge and tools required to spread awareness and create real change.

For more information about the 2012 National Youth Leadership Training go to www.nylc.org/nylt. For more information about the Smart. Youth Solutions to the Achievement Gap™ training go to www.nylc.org/smart or contact Elizabeth Koenig.