Washington Youth Leadership Seminar

“WYLS taught me so many things that I cannot wait to implement into my everyday life and future career! Once of those things I learned was characteristics and skills to focus on to be a successful leader. I know now, thanks to this seminar that I can go into my career with full confidence to be a leader.”
  - 2025 WYLS Participant

"I am truly thankful for being a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity because I was able to learn the true characteristics of a leader. Since the seminar, I have applied the ability to listen to the needs in my school and community, allowing me to accurately represent the needs of others. Though you won't always be able to satisfy the needs of everyone, I've been focusing more on listening to the needs of others rather than focusing on what I think is important. I truly thank the WYLS for allowing me to be a participant in something that has molded me into a better role-model and advocate.” 
- 2025 WYLS Participant

"During my time being a participant of the WYLS, I was able to meet a number of highly esteemed professionals that gave me insight on how to establish connections. These special speakers came from different places all across the country and had very different backgrounds, yet the main thing they all stressed was to create connections with people. This had helped me realize the importance of forming relationships with people in my school and community. It helps create a highly supportive and efficient environment for work to be done. I learned that I need to take initiative when reaching out to people and put myself out there to make these relationships."
 - 2025 WYLS Participant

"I’m very grateful for the opportunity to learn from all the guest speakers and it was truly a privilege to hear their voices and wisdoms being passed down to us younger advocates. I will be applying the knowledge that I received to my community when I partake in local events. I’ve been inspired to also share and inspire others like this program inspired me!"
 - 2025 WYLS Participant

"WYLS helped me discover the power of my voice and the importance of civic engagement. I now feel more confident speaking up about issues that matter and plan to encourage others to get involved in local change. The seminar showed me that leadership isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about listening, learning, and taking action. I’m excited to bring this mindset back to my school and help foster a culture of collaboration and purpose." 
- WYLS 2025 Participant

"I participated in the WYLS conference where I learned about leadership, but also other key areas for personal development, such as mental health. I learned that mental health is as important as physical health and that we must ourselves time to recharge so that we can be better changemakers. I also gained knowledge that was only made possible through WYLS, such as new technology and risks of human dependence on it.  I learned a lot about what it means to be a real leader, such as having empathy, confidence and inspiration. We also talked about what are common missing skills and knowledge that prevent real change from happening. I really loved the program and how my peers were friendly and the speaker’s professionalism.” 
- WYLS 2025 Participant