By Emily Williams
Sophomores and juniors in the Jefferson County area have the opportunity to get out of their school systems and interact with peers and professionals throughout the greater Birmingham area when they apply for the Youth Leadership Forum.
The program is an outgrowth of Leadership Birmingham and seeks to promote community awareness and foster leadership skills in its participants.
A mother of Mountain Brook city schools graduates, YLF Executive Director Susie Abbott said she can appreciate the opportunity it gives both suburban and inner-city students to socialize with their counterparts.
“Kids tend to get stuck in these smaller communities, you know how they call it ‘Boringham,’” Abbot said. “At that first meeting you’ll see everyone sticking with their like groups – the Mountain Brook students with the Vestavia students and so on – and gradually during the day you watch those groups break down.”
Abbott recalls a previous YLF class engaging in an open discussion about race and acceptance by the end of one meeting in an effort to make one of their classmates feel more confident and comfortable.
In addition to breaking down community barriers, the YLF class is exposed to various cogs of the machine that makes a city run. Students miss one day of school each month to participate in a YLF program, with each of those meetings following a different theme. There is a day for arts, a day for government, a human services day and an economic development and education day.
During a day devoted to a specific area of the city, representatives from the city, organizations, companies and such interact with the students.
On arts day, students choose an area of the arts that interests them and engage in the activity. On government day, they interact with elected officials. On economic development day, representatives of various local businesses have breakfast with the class.
“My favorite is human services day,” Abbott said. “My background includes volunteering with the Junior League of Birmingham, so that is where my heart is.”
On that day, the Junior League donates $1,000 to an agency of the class’ choosing. Each student chooses a human services agency, creates and gives a presentation on the organization and then the class as a whole chooses a winner to receive the donation.
“For the past two years it has gone to the Firehouse Shelter,” Abbott said. “At the closing retreat, the Junior League gives them a big check to present.”
Even though she has a favorite day, Abbott said the entire process is one she enjoys year after year. She tries her best to keep in touch with the program graduates and said she has written her fair share of recommendation letters on their behalf. Abbott added that three of those recommendations she has written, two for Hoover students and one for a Homewood student, were for Stanford University.
“These kids are real go-getters,” Abbott said. “On days when they are networking with professionals, you’ll see some of them getting those business cards and shaking hands.”
She added that the professionals who participate are more than happy to interact with the kids, and recruiting adults is never a difficult task for her to accomplish.
“It’s all about investing in young people,” Abbott said. “They have a lot to offer the community and this is a way to give them the tools to make their mark.”
Applications for YLF are due Oct. 3 by 4 p.m. and must be submitted through a guidance counselor. Students eligible for the program must have a B average in school and the ability to commit to attend every meeting. A group interview process will take place before students are selected for the program.
Abbott’s interview advice to any prospective applicants was to keep up to date on current events in Birmingham and be ready to offer up some ideas on how to better the city of Birmingham.
For more information, visit ylfbham.org.
