Youth-driven success — ILEAD Youth Summit

Three SKPS students recently played a key role in organizing a regional leadership event. This event was designed to empower young people across the Mid-Willamette Valley.

Meet Mei-Yu, Megan and Trenton

These three students served on the City of Salem’s ILEAD Youth Committee. They helped plan and lead the 17th annual ILEAD Youth Leadership Summit. The summit is a unique leadership and wellness event for high school students living in Marion, Polk, and Linn counties.

"ILEAD is especially meaningful because it is truly youth-centered, youth-driven and youth-led. Students like Mei-Yu, Megan and Trenton work alongside peers from across the region to design and deliver an experience created by youth, for youth."
Laurie Shaw, ILEAD Director

Dedication in action

From October through March, the youth committee met regularly outside of school to prepare for the summit. Serving on this committee requires many hours of hard work. These students had to plan the event while balancing school, activities, jobs, and family responsibilities.

Their work included choosing this year’s theme: “Stronger When We Lead Together.” They also reworked the schedule, planned activities, and picked workshop topics. They even wrote welcome messages and presented parts of the opening and closing sessions.

Building confidence in others

Thanks in part to their leadership, nearly 120 teens from across the region gathered for this year’s summit. They learned new leadership skills and explored ways to live healthy lives. Most importantly, they built confidence as leaders in their own schools and communities.