McKay High School Senior Adriana Cavazos is among the local students who helped planned the 2021 ILEAD summit on Dec. 11. (Courtesy/City of Salem)
Teens from Salem and beyond with gather virtually Saturday for the city’s annual ILEAD Youth Leadership Summit, featuring workshops on burnout, leadership skills, yoga and more.
The free event is organized annually by the city of Salem’s youth development and outreach coordinator, Laurie Shaw Casarez, with a seven-member committee of high school students who selected workshop topics and the keynote speaker.
Dr. John Gains, a motivational speaker, will address the group about his childhood and overcoming adversity.
Because the summit is being held virtually this year, it’s open to any high school student in Oregon. Registration online remains open through Friday.
The summit runs from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 11, and students can come and go as they choose during the day. The event also includes raffle prizes, a live DJ, lunchtime yoga and an event t-shirt to be mailed to participants.
“The fact that ILEAD is going statewide this year opens up so many doors,” said McKay High School senior and youth committee member Adriana Cavazos in a statement. “All students can interact with one another and gain new perspectives. What gets me excited is thinking about how we get to meet people our age who we probably would not get the chance to meet in this lifetime, ILEAD is bringing us all together.”
-Rachel Alexander
