The Yosemite Leadership Program (YLP) welcomed it's newest cohort of 26 young leaders after a competitive application process. This 2-year leadership program is an innovative collaboration between the Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Program and Yosemite National Park. The program also welcomed back its returning cohort who completed their first year in the program last May.
The photo above was taken during the 1st-year cohort retreat in Yosemite National Park, which took place on the weekend of September 14th. The students enjoyed a weekend in Yosemite National Park where they practiced self-reflection and team-work while hiking and completing community service in the park. The overnight retreat allowed the group to develop as a team and reflect on the type of leadership they hope to learn during their time in the Yosemite Leadership Program.
This two-year experience integrates training in leadership skills, education on the theories and practices of leadership, and personal and professional development opportunities to create generations of socially engaged and environmentally aware global stewards.
YLP's innovative design includes leadership seminars, speakers and crystallizing wilderness experiences in the first year, an immersive, park-based summer internship program, and a capstone legacy project and cross-peer mentoring opportunities in the second year.
The first year elements combine to increase participants’ belief in their own abilities and inspire them to recognize their own potential.
The summer internship creates meaningful connections to the environment and provides intensive professional development and mentorship for students. The greatest benefit of this summer program is that it takes students out of the context in which they “know” themselves and connects them to a larger world of opportunities. Students do not have to participate in the two year program to engage in the summer internship, but learning through YLP is like compound interest: the more you engage, the greater experience and network you will walk away with.
Capstone legacy projects and peer mentorship opportunities provided during the Leadership Practicum (second year of YLP) allow students to apply their skills and knowledge to create the social and environmental change they want to see.
In each of its components, YLP links didactic learning to practical, field-based experiences, which creates personal transformations and empowers students to move from theory to action.
Both cohort are excited for another year of leadership learning, and another year of growing closer with their peers within the program. The Yosemite Leadership Program is facilitated by two members of the Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center staff (Jacob Croasdale - Margo F. Souza Student Leadership Center Coordinator & Jess Evora - Associate Director of the Center), and two staff members of Yosemite National Park (Jesse Chakrin - Director, Yosemite Leadership Program & Jessica Rivas - Wildnerness Education Center Manager).
If you have questions, feel free to contact any members of the team! Visit our "About" page for staff contact information!
We are looking forward to another amazing year of the Yosemite Leadership Program!
