A message from Lew Colby Award Winner Sophie Brickman

On an annual basis, the Board of Directors of Maine Youth Leadership awards up to $250 to a specified charity (or charities) and/or not-for-profit organization(s) in honor of a deserving high school junior or senior who has participated in MYL as an ambassador.  Sophie Brickman of Fort Kent Community High School was this year’s Lew Colby Award Winner. Sophie chose Aroostook County Teen Leadership Camp to receive the donation. Below is a press release Sophie submitted to her local newspaper, sharing her experience with MYL. The MYL organization is honored to have Sophie and students like her as alumni.

Many people have never heard of Maine Youth Leadership (MYL), and until two years ago neither had I. MYL’s main goal is to motivate Maine’s future leaders, and to do so they host a four day seminar at the USM campus, in Gorham, ME. MYL invites one tenth grade student from every public and private high school in the state to attend this seminar at no cost to the student. Last year, I was lucky enough to be chosen to attend the seminar as an ambassador for Community High School. A typical day at the MYL seminar includes team-building activities, seminar sessions, focus group time, and hearing from motivational speakers. Seminar topics include teamwork, personal mission statements, leadership and the law, media influence, and life after high school. Each ambassador is part of a focus group which meets repeatedly throughout the day to process seminar events.
MYL has a core belief that leadership and volunteerism should be intertwined, so on the third seminar day all ambassadors and staff members spend the afternoon volunteering in the Portland community. In all, we complete over 300 hours of community service. MYL is a great place to learn and experience character growth, but one of the best parts about MYL is that it gives students a chance to network with other student leaders from all over the state. While attendees only spend four days at MYL, the bonds and relationships made continue to prosper throughout high school.
This year, I applied and was accepted to go back to the seminar as a Junior Counselor (JC). The main responsibility of a JC is to facilitate focus groups and act as positive role models for ambassadors. Returning to the seminar as a staff member is a very different experience, but it is still extremely rewarding. Nearly everyone, from staff to ambassadors, leaves MYL with feelings of motivation and determination to fulfill their personal mission statement and to truly be the change they wish to see in the world. Because only a few students get to attend the seminar, it is important to spread the MYL magic and to come home empowered, but also to come home and empower others.