Youth Leadership Summit

Where will your next step take you?
Grab your gear and get ready to make your mark! The Youth Leadership Summit is an unforgettable day of connection, inspiration, and leadership designed to help high school students discover their strengths, build confidence, find their voice, and recognize the impact they can make.
Through an inspiring keynote, interactive experiences, and opportunities to connect with other students, participants will explore what it means to lead with purpose, use their voice, and take meaningful steps toward their future.
Your experiences matter. Your voice matters. Your choices matter.
Leadership doesn't look the same for everyone. This summit gives students space to recognize what they already bring to the table while discovering new ways to grow, connect, and make an impact.
Summit Details
- Date
- Wednesday, January 27, 2027
- Workshop
- #412324
- Cost
- Free for member districts.
- How Registration Works
- District staff will register for the summit and provide information for the students they plan to bring.
One step can change the direction of your journey.
Where you start doesn't decide how far you can go. This day is about recognizing your strengths, learning from every step of your journey, and discovering how your next choices can make a difference for you and the people around you.
What You'll Take With You
The goal is bigger than one great day. Students leave with ideas, encouragement, and skills they can carry into what comes next.
Confidence
Recognize the strengths, experiences, and qualities that already make you capable of leading.
Your Voice
Discover how your perspective, ideas, and choices can influence the people and places around you.
Resilience
Explore ways to move through challenges, adapt when the path changes, and keep moving forward.
What's Next
Think intentionally about your goals, your future, and the next steps that can help you get there.
What the Day Looks Like
Students will rotate between two experiences designed to inspire, connect, and equip them for the road ahead.
Inspiring Keynote
Hear a powerful message about recognizing your worth, using your voice, and making a difference.
Interactive Experience
Get hands-on with an interactive session focused on useful skills, practical tools, and preparing for whatever comes next.

Ray Reynosa
Ray Reynosa is a storyteller and youth advocate who shares his own experience with homelessness and adversity to remind students that their past does not define their future.
Ray became homeless at age two and spent part of his childhood sleeping in a car. With support from mentors, educators, and his community, he found the strength to rewrite his story. Today he travels the country on the “Homeless By Choice” Tour, which has reached more than 25,000 students with a message of resilience, purpose, and the power of choice.
Ray speaks with students, educators, and communities about youth empowerment, mental health awareness, and educational equity.
Read more about Ray Reynosa on the Impact Truth websiteStudents Had a Lot to Say
It was amazing!
I would love to experience something like this again. It actually taught me so much.
I loved it and would 100% do it again.
What Educators Said
“Thank you for a great job today. Our students enjoyed it so much!”
“The speaker was outstanding, and the kids loved it!”
Grab your gear. Find your voice. Make your mark.
District staff can register today and begin planning for the students they would like to bring to this year's Youth Leadership Summit.
Register for the Youth Leadership SummitContact Us
For additional information about the Youth Leadership Summit or registration assistance, please contact the Region 7 ESC team below.