Over the last sixteen years, we have come to realize that the strategies we use to create lifetime humanitarians, create Utah leaders as well: individuals who are confident in their abilities to accept a challenge, who are eager to approach others to work together to do difficult things, who see the potential in every person and situation, and who celebrate successes, large and small.
Through our Service Year – and through our expanding Real Life teen refugee peer mentoring program – Utah secondary and college students have deeply impactful hands-on local and international service experiences that change their relationship with their communities and their world. They see themselves as individuals empowered to make a difference. We believe leadership is a process, not a product.
We believe it is as important to learn from failure as to celebrate success. So, in the Youthlinc model, whether young people are working together to plan a lesson, build a school room, mentor a peer, or recover from a setback or change in plans, each interaction is one more step in the journey towards a lifetime of humanitarian service. 