Are you interested in local government, leadership, or simply in making more friends from other schools? For Tempe Prep sophomores Alec Mitchel and Bella Schmoker the answer was “yes”, and they explored these interests through the Tempe Youth Leadership (TYL) program. They both recently graduated from the program which taught them about leadership on a local level, and community involvement.

The TYL program teaches students about local leadership through interactive issue days in which participants learn about topics from government to social services to business. Participants also get to meet the mayor of Tempe and other leaders in our community. To graduate from the program, participants must attend six activity days, a few mandatory meetings, and a retreat for all the members. Members also participate in community-wide events and team building exercises.

This program is for tenth and eleventh-grade students, and to get in you must submit an application. Alec Mitchel says, “I would encourage all ninth and tenth graders to consider applying for this program next year, it really is a lot of fun.” He explains that the program was quite fun and he made many friends throughout the program. He also described that he learned a lot about leadership, saying the most valuable lesson was: “Leadership is about making an impact, its’ more than just telling people what to do. And you also should take all different viewpoints into consideration.”