Multicultural Youth Leadership Summit: Empowering the Leader Within Each Youth

Maegan CastletonLeadership Summit, Stories, Students

5 min read | Written By: Lydia Bigcraft. Header provided by Joel P. Jensen Middle School

What does it look like when you bring together an Olympic athlete, two scientists, the Museum of Utah director, a licensed clinical social worker, three university student leaders, a financial investments program director, six K-pop dancers, Governor Cox & Lt. Governor Henderson, and over 650 students and educators?

Drumroll please… A whole lot of fun, learning, and leadership development for the next generation of Utah’s leaders!

In November, we hosted our 2024 Multicultural Youth Leadership Summit: Empowering the Leader Within, for Utah’s 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students to learn more about college and career readiness, financial empowerment, mental wellness, and leadership 101s. We were incredibly honored to have a phenomenal list of Utah-local professionals share with students their personal journeys of turning a passion into a profession, and the college and career pathways they took to become the leaders of Utah that they are today.

Interacting with fifteen schools across the state, students were asked to imagine Utah’s future — where each of them were passionate leaders who used all of their lived-experiences, learned skills, and talents, to create a better state. Students left encouraged and inspired by the incredible presenters and guest speakers who modeled to these students what a life of leadership, tapped into passion, could look like. In 2021-2022, research conducted on 23,000 middle school and high school students in Utah noted a disparity between the skills of students and their interests in related fields, indicating a need for exposure to a wider range of careers, and a greater understanding of the day-to-day realities of various vocations (McNulty, 2022). By introducing them to Utah’s leaders who found ways to incorporate their interests into their professions, ranging from majoring in theater to working in engineering, to loving dance and becoming a business director — our presenters demonstrated how every passion or skill can be a leadership asset.

A study by Greenlight, surveying 1,029 youth ages 13-20, found that only 44% of youth in America understand banking, 50% know how to earn money, and 63% grasp the principles of saving (2021). While the harrowing truth is that 74% of youth do not feel confident in their financial literacy, thankfully, 73% of youth want to become financially empowered (Greenlight, 2021). During the 2024 Multicultural Youth Leadership Summit, Utah students learned the basics of earning money, banking, investing, and saving. With a guided worksheet, students reflected on their asset-generating skills and how to invest their time and money to support their long-term goals, such as attending college and buying a home.

With big dreams for the future, it’s natural for teens to fear failure. As all leaders know, it’s crucial to prioritize mental health and self-care to maintain progress. We were thrilled to bring in Dr. LaShawn Williams, a licensed clinical social worker, to equip our students with tips and tricks for managing performance anxiety. This way, students can lead as their best selves, whether it’s during a Mathletes competition or basketball game. By normalizing mental health discussion, we encourage youth to seek help and learn ways to take care of their mental well-being. In Utah, 41.5% of youth reported feeling sad or hopeless nearly every day, for periods of two weeks or more, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Dougherty, 2023). Today, it’s more important than ever for students to learn how to care for their mental health, empowering them to lead with hope. 

The 2024 Multicultural Youth Leadership Summit: Empowering the Leader Within, was an incredible opportunity to connect with Utah’s bright 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students. With interactive games, fantastic speakers and performers, and critical discussion on college and career readiness, financial empowerment, mental wellness, and leadership development, students shared their thanks and praise for the valuable lessons and fun. Here at the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs, we remain hopeful for the future of Utah, and look forward to seeing these students rise as the next generation of leaders.

References:

Celebrate Financial Literacy Month with Your Kids and Teens | Greenlight. (2021, April 1). Greenlight.com; Greenlight. https://greenlight.com/learning-center/spotlight-stories/celebrate-financial-literacy-month-with-your-kids-and-teens

Dougherty, J. (2023, April 28). Data shows growing health challenges faced by Utah youth. Department of Health and Human Services. https://dhhs.utah.gov/featured-news/data-shows-growing-health-challenges-faced-by-utah-youth/McNulty, K. (2022, January 26). The state of Utah empowers educators to close the career exposure gap for students across the state. YouScience; YouScience. https://www.youscience.com/resources/press/2022-utah-talent-report-press-release/