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