Adolescence is an exciting phase of one’s life! Not only do we make some critical decisions as teens, but we also pick up on some crucial responsibilities. High schoolers, on the threshold of adulthood, are usually active and volatile in nature. This energetic spurt and vigor can be utilized for nation-building. High school students can, in fact, become great Samaritans and citizens of the country if trained appropriately, and for that purpose alone, we have personality development training sessions, especially leadership programs.
Youth leadership programs help teenagers work on their personal skills, self-esteem, perception of the world, logical reasoning, experience, and, of course, leadership skills.
In this post, we shall discuss how youth leadership programs help a teen become the best version of themselves. Also, we shall share with you the top 10 youth leadership programs for high school students later in the article.
So, keep reading!
High School and Leadership
Leadership is an essential quality that encourages a young mind to groom into a dynamic and independent citizen. It allows a person to not only execute their part but also encourage the rest.
As a child, an individual may focus on academics only. However, taking responsibility is a step ahead of dealing with personal challenges. Leadership needs you to hold others accountable, the same as you would have to for yourself.
For instance, you may serve as a youth leader in a temple or a town government.
Benefits of Youth Leadership Programs
As the name suggests, youth leadership programs are made with the sole vision to improve leadership skills among youth. However, why does a teenager such as yourself need to be a leader already? Good question! Following are just a few of the many benefits:
- Self-analysis
A youth leadership program helps the high schooler analyze himself and account for his strengths and weaknesses. Self-analysis makes them know what needs to be learned and what goals are to be set in life practically. A youth leadership program also teaches the student with traits like creativity, communication, and open-mindedness.
- Improved Motivation and Self-esteem
Youth leadership programs keep students motivated all the time, thus ensuring self-esteem in all the tasks they indulge in.
- Ability to guide others
A person needs to have specific skills in dealing with the mindsets of people. A leader can guide people and their course of action by influencing their opinions. A youth leadership program ensures all of this.
- Establish Social networks
The greatest power that a social being has is contacts. Youth Leadership programs make sure that the youth learn to stay connected to each other, which eventually helps form allies.
Best Youth Leadership Programs for High School Students
You can find many youth leadership programs. However, choosing the right one among them needs you to take care of certain criteria. It is crucial to understand that leadership programs can be physical, developmental as well as social.
Here are our picks for the 10 Best Youth leadership programs for high school students:
The C5 association has created a youth-centric program that grooms students into becoming more productive. It not only focuses on building relationships between students and adults but also makes them believe people around them are ready to support them. Next, they make youth aware of new ideas, concepts, and ideas, thus, expanding their vision for the future.
This program ensures that the youth engage in scouting activities that empower them with leadership skills in schools and communities. Moreover, it also encourages students to dedicate themselves to and think of community service in their early college life and careers.
BSA has crafted a course for young boys by combining educational activities and life values. Having a history of over a century now, BSA claims to provide the best youth program that leads to character development and values-based leadership training. It offers six pieces of training based on age and preferences.
There is a dedicated site for girls scouting. Till now, about 130 million men and women have participated in these programs. The traditional programs are operated by local charter organizations, making them available to youth in any state in America.
Girls Inc. is a 501 non-profit organization that encourages all girls to be strong and self. Accordingly, their tagline is “Strong, smart, and Bold.” They provide mentorship with access to comprehensive sex education and safe, high-quality reproductive health care, including contraception and abortion services. Moreover, they ensure girls know about leadership and financials.
NYLC offers leadership training workshops and lectures in schools as well as other community-based organizations. Having experience of around 35 years, NYLC ensures service-learning, a constant focus on educational equity, and serving communities. NYLC offers a crisp 5-hour training program that ensures:
- empowerment of students as leaders,
- community building,
- identifying and addressing the root cause of community issues, and finally,
- setting goals to determine success.
Powerful Youth is a global community that is well known for its summer youth leadership programs. The staff believes in creating an experience-based learning model, and so, they designed service-themed projects for the community as well as youth’s advantage. Other perks include a safe environment with medical support, presentation and implementation of project plans, and the creation of scholarships.
Girl In Power is on a mission to uplift and empower girls at high risk. Mindful contributors from this community ensure these girls are uplifted emotionally, physically, and financially. They do so via a platter of skill-building plans, which include leadership too. This non-profit organization ensures workshops and GIP programs are run continuously to build necessary drivers for girls.
Generation Serve is a leadership-building community for teens that is run and empowered by non-profit professionals and volunteers. This organization makes teens learn how to make real changes, and the values of compassion, empathy, and justice. It also offers a summer program that includes virtual training. Generation Serve aims to develop skills like public speaking, goal setting, teamwork, and project planning.
NTLP is a non-profit organization that was established in 1992 with 185 teens in California. This organization offers leadership camps and one-day workshops to inculcate leadership skills in teens. NTLP ensures every teen has good character and leadership skills to build a better world for tomorrow
With the end goal of creating a safe place for people to learn and grow, ISSOS promises to provide a well-balanced and supervised summer leadership program with options to choose from their diverse host of academic and elective classes. With such a variety of workshops, a child truly can learn it all! ISSOS is a global training program that welcomes students from over 80 countries.
GYLA claims to be a world-class educational and experiential learning program for high schoolers from all over. They work on a child’s development, global awareness, cross-cultural diversity, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills. GYLA was founded by Tommy Spaulding, who emerged as the youngest president of any youth leadership program.
Summing up
Youth leadership programs groom high schoolers into mature and inspiring adults who’ll not only thrive in their personal growth but in our national progress as well. In this article, we have tried explaining how crucial these programs are to a talented developing mind.
To further help you make an informed decision, we have listed some of the best leadership training programs around the globe. We are here with you at every step of the process, and feel no hesitation before leaving us a comment or query!
An Engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor, and animal rights activist. I have more than 5 years of teaching experience and have worked closely with students with learning disorders. I have worked with special educators, counselors, and experts in dealing with common issues that students face during their academic journey.