Stories of Inspiration: Ben Nordquist

To add some warmth to this holiday season, the National Youth Leadership Council would like to share a few testimonies of the amazing young people who have been touched by our programs. For the next four weeks we’ll highlight stories from our National Youth Leadership Training and National Service-Learning Conference, share a message from one of our newest youth board members, and offer insights from a participant in our signature teen driver safety program, Project Ignition.

Ben Nordquist is a first year student at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Last year, Ben worked with peers in his school district to create a publication on the achievement gap based on what he learned during NYLT.

Dear Friends,

My name is Ben Nordquist and I attended National Youth Leadership Training during the summers of 2010 and 2011. Before attending NYLT, I believed that I had a decent understanding of the achievement gap and the effects it had. I believed that it could be easily defined and that it was easy to spot examples of the achievement gap because they would be obvious. I quickly realized at NYLT, though, that the achievement gap is much more complex. While our country has shifted towards one of equality and acceptance, there are still roots of inequity and discrimination that have created long lasting effects throughout our education system.

In order to help address the achievement gap in my community, I developed an action plan at NYLT that raises awareness and educates young people about the achievement gap and how it affects everyone. Partnering with some of my friends, we created and distributed a newspaper that was focused solely on the achievement gap in the Minneapolis Public Schools and how it affects those in our district. We are also planning to create a rubric for teachers to use in their classrooms that would enable teachers to facilitate discussion among their students, introducing them to basic terminology related to the achievement gap and ways for students to close the divide.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend NYLT and learn how to create effective ways to address this important issue. The lessons that I learned have empowered me to better serve my community and to promote equality and civic activism for all people. These steps, no matter how small, can create an effect that can truly change the world.

Ben Nordquist

Please consider making a year-end tax-deductible donation to support NYLC’s youth programming, and continue to provide leadership opportunities like this for young people.