By: Justin Powell This July, Youthlinc will take its first team to Colombia, but this story didn’t begin this year. It began with relationship. Over the past several years, Youthlinc has had the privilege of hosting three extraordinary Colombian leaders through the U.S. State Department’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI): Sebastián, María, and most recently, Juan Pablo. Each fellow left a lasting imprint on our organization, and each helped lay the groundwork f

By: Matthew Cordner The Youthlinc Service Year experience is one that will truly change your life, but how much you gain depends on how much you put into it. The Youthlinc service year is about more than just the capstone trip, it’s about serving others and building connections both in your local area and abroad. First, invest yourself fully into your local service. This is where the real change happens. When I was a humanitarian, I would volunteer twice a week at the Springv

By: Eva Mora When I first signed on to do my first Youthlinc trip, I had no idea where I was going, what I was doing or even why. I had no real why. I signed on late in 2023 to the Cambodia 2024 team and no idea how much it would change my life. That same year I became a student body officer at my school. The fundraiser my school hosted each year brought me 40 hours of service in my own community in just a month. It was the most service I had done in a long time, and I realiz

By: Justin Powell On February 18, the Youthlinc community gathered for the premiere of Closer Than We Think: A Year That Changes You —and what a night it was! Even with a snowstorm rolling in and roads less than ideal, you showed up. That simple act says more than any speech could. It speaks to the strength of this community and the shared belief that our mission matters. At Youthlinc, we talk often about creating lifetime humanitarians. The premiere was a living example of t

By: Elizabeth Divis Every year, 12th grade students at Juan Diego Catholic High School participate in the Senior Service Project or Juan Diego Senior Service Week (JDSSW). For a whole week, seniors participate in service opportunities in the community instead of classes. Every senior is assigned to a specific service location, and this year, three students spent the week with Youthlinc’s Real Life program. JDSSW 2026 took place over the week of January 26th-30th, and three Ju

By: Jessica Hardiman “How did you get into a career like this?” I was recruiting at Utah State University’s Study Abroad Fair last week when students kept asking me that question. Each time, it stopped me in my tracks. I smiled, because the honest answer isn’t short. I didn’t start college with a clear plan. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, what degree I would finish with, or where I was heading. In fact, I changed my undergraduate major more times than I care to admit. Eno

By: Jordan Taylor Building Community, Empowering Youth, and Leading with Purpose in Ecuador At the heart of Youthlinc’s work in Ecuador is Evelyn Yucailla, an architect, community organizer, and passionate advocate for youth and women as drivers of lasting change. Evelyn serves as the Director and Program Coordinator of Fundación Nukari , one of Youthlinc’s key in-country partners in Ecuador. Her work centers on community development, youth leadership, gender equity, and hu

By: Kylee Finch How do you put into words the experience that you have seeing the world and all good within it? How do you put into words how much your life changes when you experience all of what the world has to offer in villages from around the world? Short answer you really can’t, long answer is the stories I have from my experience.   I have been on two Youthlinc service year trips now and each year my life is impacted more and more. The summer of 2024 I was on my first

By: Nathan Anderson Over the holiday season, Youthlinc sent out two  Friends and Family trips rooted in connection, curiosity, and shared reflection. This journey brought together people of different ages, backgrounds, and relationships, united by a desire to learn, listen, and experience life beyond our usual routines. Over the course of the trip, we engaged with Cuban communities in meaningful ways through cultural exchange, conversations with local partners, moments of ser

By Shelly Burningham, Real Life Director Real Life is an after-school tutoring and life skills peer mentoring program that partners Youthlinc with a variety of organizations in Salt Lake County. Real Life provides active, practical, after-school programming to teens, tween with refugee or immigrant status in Utah.      Real Life was born through the visionary leadership of Ellie Seaborn, a Youthlinc employee at the time.  She explains, "Four nights a week, I was working with

By Shelly Burningham Accepting applications through March 15, 2020.  Click here  to learn more about the Real Life Scholarship. Over the past few years in Real Life, many students have indicated that they want to go to college and have a decent job, but in reality there are many barriers that hinder them from following through on that dream.  Because of this, Real Life implemented a new college preparation curriculum aimed at preparing high school students for post-secondary

By Jackie Moynihan and Shelly Burningham, Real Life Directors For the past several years, Merrick Bank  has been a tremendous donor and partner for Youthlinc and its flagship after-school peer mentoring program, Real Life . In addition to their financial support of Youthlinc programming, Merrick Bank has also taken part in Real Life curriculum development and scholarship promotion .  Merrick Bank first got involved in Youthlinc during the 2017-2018 Real Life year. After gener

By: Brooke Boyd Real Life is Youthlinc’s afterschool Refugee peer to peer mentoring program. Last year I was a Real Life Intern at the Sunnyvale location. Jile was a senior in high school who would come to the after school program. Jile and his family were refugees from Burundi and had spent several years at a refugee camp in Tanzania. Jile and his family had only lived in the United States for a few years when I met him. Not long after Jile and his family made it to the Unit