The SKYLAB Youth Leadership Program, designed for young people between the ages of 13 and 20, identifies and cultivates young creative artists and community leaders. Each semester 6-8 youth are selected to participate in an intensive semester-long training program during which youth develop leadership skills and become active participants in their community. The leadership program begins with a weekend retreat in places such as the Santa Cruz Mountains, or International Youth Hostel where youth participate in team building exercises, generate a list of guiding principles and values, and decide on a community focus issue for the semester. After the retreat, youth return to their community to conduct both primary and secondary research on their focus issue and to begin work on a creative project such as a community mural or short video documentary. The goal of the creative project is to give youth the opportunity to learn a variety of technical skills working with professional mentors while simultaneously giving voice to their own thoughts, ideas and research. Throughout the semester youth also participate in weekly workshops on important topics such as interview skills, resume writing, public speaking, goal-setting and personal finance which will help them be successful as they go forward in life. Upon successful completion of the program, each youth leader opens a personal bank account and receives a $500 stipend to be used to pursue their personal and educational goals.
Youth Leadership Program Highlight
John sums up what it means to be in the SKYLAB Leadership Program: enthusiastic, organized, rational, respectful and ready to take on a challenge. Since SKYLAB's inception, John has attended on a regular basis. He has overcome many obstacles to get where he is today and is ready to take his ideas to the next level. His calm demeanor and levelheaded decision making skills naturally place him in the role of a leader. John has developed his Adobe Illustrator skills utilizing the resources at the SKYLAB. He uses the "Garage Band" editing program to gain a basic understanding of production related aspects of music. After completing high school, John plans to continue on to college to pursue his passion for playing music. He has made the commitment to return to the SKYLAB one day as a mentor for the youth program.
