YLS Conference Showcases Local Students
The 2022 Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) gave Logan High School students a chance to learn about leadership and public speaking. During YLS, they were invited to talk about topics that they were passionate about, speaking to a large group at the end of the conference.
Logan High School senior Quincy Maes led a group of students talking about diversity and stereotypes.
Credit: NCCEP
“No matter our gender, cultural background, race, or even sexuality, we all identify as human at the end of the day.... we are valuable to this community.”
Credit: NCCEP
Students were invited to talk about topics that they were passionate about, speaking to a large group at the end of the conference. Credit: NCCEP
Watch the full presentation
Five GEAR UP students were among 150 students chosen from across the United States that gathered to learn about and demonstrate leadership. The Youth Leadership Summit is an event sponsored by the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) as part of the GEAR UP Annual Conference. This year’s event was held for three and a half days on July 17 – 20 in Washington D.C.
The NCCEP conference started with a welcome to the many GEAR UP teams from across the country, including students, and a raucous roll call of the states. Cowbells and other noisemakers rang out across the room as those in attendance joyously celebrated their return to in-person meetings after a very long few years.
Afterwards, YLS students left to join their peers in training that focused on public speaking, systems-thinking, and leadership. As one student remarked “YLS helped students to open up and be more confident and better leaders.” It also advises them on how to give voice to and face their fears. During the training, students were asked to write down their biggest fear on a board and literally break it with their hand, challenging them to face their fear with action. This led to important realizations for many of the students.
“I learned we would be presenting to all these educators and politicians to help all of our schools and help people in the GEAR UP program," said Mahmoud Ghabayen. “Once I learned that’s what we were doing, it felt a lot more important, and it made me want to try harder to impress them and get them to care about what we were talking about.”
The presentations were a big deal. Back in the large ballroom that had played host to presidents and world leaders, all the participants waited. This time around, it held a more subdued group of over 2,000 GEAR UP conference attendees that had completed three days of enriching and growth-oriented workshops and breakout sessions.
Tears and laughter filled the room as the YLS students began their presentation about topics that were important to them. These included education reform, college education access and affordability, environmental sustainability, gun violence, mental health, inclusion, economic justice, among others. Logan High School senior Quincy Maes spoke for a group of students, talking about diversity and stereotypes. He said “No matter our gender, cultural background, race, or even sexuality, we all identify as human at the end of the day.... we are valuable to this community.”
“For me the conference was a really great experience,” said recent graduate Celeste Sanchez. It gave her the chance to see “different ways you can bring out your positivity for them and show them how you’d like to change the world for the better.”
GEAR UP students participating in the summit included Logan High School seniors; Celeste Sanchez and Madelyn Garcia, and juniors; Aaliyah Franco, Mahmoud Ghabayen and Quincy Maes. Chaperones include Rose Brown, math teacher, and Leigh Larsen, GEAR UP site coordinator.
Registration for the 2023 Youth Leadership Summit in San Francisco will open in late 2022. Spots fill quickly for this enriching experience. Talk to your director in the USU GEAR UP office if you are interested in sending students.