Leading With...

One of the most effective ways to get students to feel they can make a change is to arm them with the necessary tools. In At Our Best, the authors focus on The importance of building supportive, strong, and authentic youth-adult partnerships. Historically, youth have been at the forefront of national movements; as explained in the reading, youth have held diverse roles in these movements, such as supporting boycotts, holding walkouts, and marches advocating for change. The authors note that youth-adult partnerships differ from other relationships between youth and adults because they focus on collective development and transformation.

In Chapter 8, Pegah Rahmanian, the former director of Youth in Action and a pillar in my own development, explains the importance of personalizing their program for students and leading the students they serve to practice life and leadership skills. At Youth in Action, students are encouraged to be their best selves and bring their unique qualities to programming every day. Youth are given tools and resources and are connected to their community in a way that provides strength and resilience; this encourages students to become leaders in their community, not solely youth that live there but ones that can make a difference. The organization promotes open communication between youth and adults, prompting its students to think and view themselves as participants rather than bystanders. As a youth at YIA, the adults made me rethink my stance on change and realize that I could be a driving force in the differences I wanted to see in my community. A prominent quote embedded in the program values is, "Nothing about us, without us, is for us." The phrase became the mantra, signaling that policy should only be decided by a representative with the full and direct involvement of the affected group members. YIA encouraged youth to speak out about problems affecting their communities and assisted them in getting involved by speaking to their local representatives, attending meetings, etc. Through YIA, I attended community events such as Waterfire, block parties, and peaceful marches and protests. I was encouraged to step outside my comfort zone- like camping in the woods and exploring my personality, strengths, and weaknesses.