Stories of Inspiration: Mahati Pidaparti

When you combine a young person with big vision and a program that gives them wings, nothing is out of reach. At the National Youth Leadership Council, we are surrounded by these visionary leaders every day, not only through our programs, but also through the youth who serve on our Youth Advisory Council and Board of Directors.

In the second installment of this four-part series, we’d like to introduce you to one of our newest board members, Mahati Pidaparti. She is a high school senior in Wayzata, Minn., who does volunteer research at the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota pediatric oncology unit and the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center. She plans to pursue a career in medicine and someday put her skills to use in international aid.

Dear Friends,

I am so thrilled to be able to serve on the National Youth Leadership Council’s Board of Directors. The fact that NYLC elects youth to their board is so unusual. It is really nice to know that youth are a part of running an organization like this because it gives youth an opportunity to really make their voice heard.

I got connected with NYLC through family friends who urged me to attend the National Youth Leadership Training. It was like no other camp I’d been to. Rather than spending the week canoeing or swimming, we used the outdoors as a resource that enabled us to stay active and engaged while discussing social issues and their moral and ethical implications.

After that experience I wanted to get more involved with NYLC, so I applied to be on the Youth Advisory Council, and was accepted. In my first year on the YAC, we made policy recommendations that informed hill briefings and field conversations, helped judge applications to NYLC’s Project Ignition program, and presented a workshop at the National Service-Learning Conference on youth policy and how youth can make change.

I believe that service-learning is so important because it helps people at both ends — obviously, with service you’re helping someone else, but with the reflection and learning parts of service-learning, you’re growing and learning too. It affects your own personal development, and I think that’s very important. It has led me to get more involved with my school and community, as well as given me ideas on how I can incorporate service in my future career in medicine.

Mahati Pidaparti

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.