Civitan Youth Leadership and Diversity Conference

Emma Mogus

Books with No Bounds began just a few months before my older sister, Julia, attended YLDC. She encouraged me to go, and I found YLDC to be such an incredible experience. Seeing other like-minded youth gave us the confidence and inspiration to continue our mission when we returned home. We really liked how YLDC makes leadership, volunteering, and social change a cool (and incredibly fun) thing to do! The workshops and team-building activities were fantastic to take part in, and at the end of the week, it felt like I was leaving behind a family of diverse people from different walks of life who all shared the same desire to make our world better.

 

Pyper Chalk

YLDC was really an amazing opportunity for both me and my friends, and I have seen a difference in myself in the way I act and behave. My confidence has grown, allowing me to meet and make so many new friends and be comfortable in situations I previously would not have been comfortable in. I have more confidence when standing up for people who are bullied and more drive to stand up because of Kelsey’s seminar on bullying. I’m really more aware of how people are affected by the way others act and how much I can make a difference in a single person’s life because of this conference.

 

 

Omar Falasteen

I want to tell you that I won't ever forget YLDC as long as I walk on this earth. The first day that we arrived I remember you telling us that when we left on the last day we would be a different person. At first I didn't believe you, but now I totally see what you meant. You made me look at the world from a different direction, you showed me that the way a person looks shouldn't be a way to judge someone. You taught me how to be accepting to all kinds of people. You showed me that tears don't mean weakness but a sign of strong emotions, and that I shouldn’t be afraid to cry. I thank the staff for showing me how to be a leader and a good role model.

 

 

Eillie Sambrone

I absolutely loved YLDC, and it made a big difference for me. I met a lot of new people who are there for me whenever I need them, like my roommate Alex, from Canada. And I feel that it forms an unbreakable support system for people like me who never really had one, and I wouldn't be able to push myself as much as I do now without her. I want to change more people’s lives. I want to make as big of an impact on people as YLDC has had on me.

 

 

Danny Schwartz

Thank you so much for the great week that you supplied me with this past summer. It truly did change my life by being surrounded by people with an honest accepting view of the world. The friendships that I made at YLDC will always be cherished. The leadership skills that I acquired have helped me achieve such things as being student body president and captain of both my basketball and football team; I can't help but believe that YLDC had a lot to do with that. Thank you for being who you are and changing my life.
 

 

 

Mohamed Sarraj

I’ve started to see the positive side to practically everything. I look at a group of people with varying talents and I no longer see the “smart” and the “dull,” I see them for who they are, people with varying talents. People who have unique and different skills to bring to the group. I no longer see the “able” and the “disabled,” I see people I can learn from, and I see potential friends. Since leaving YLDC I’ve been volunteering in a class for students with anxiety and depression related issues, and I have managed to interact and connect with some students in ways that I may not have been able to before. In framing diversity as strength, YLDC has allowed me to grow and broaden my scope as a person.

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