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Let Youth Voices Be Heard! 21st Century Leaders Quarterly Publication Published by students, for students.

Introducing Our New Brand! 21st Century Leadersâ€™ has undergone an extensive rebranding. The major changes are most reflective in our new logo and website (www.21stcenturyleaders.org). Our goal was to take the same values and themes associated with our original mark, and introduce a visible innovative approach to youth leadership.

Let new beginnings signify a new chapter filled with success and happiness, written by the ink of hard work, intelligence, and leadership.

Save the Date! National Youth Leadership Month

Georgia Youth Leadership Awards

Global Youth Service Day

February 2015

February 26, 2015

April 18, 2015

Le mu e lCobbs

LET YOUTH VOICES BE HEARD

WINTER 2015

LET YOUTH VOICES BE HEARD

WINTER 2015

Georgia Youth Leadership Awards By: Tiffani Alexander The Georgia Youth Leadership Awards (GYLA)

up to the main event on Thursday, February 26th. On

honors 20 outstanding young people across the

behalf of all the GYLA classes, congratulations and enjoy

state who exemplify the qualities of a 21st Century

your special evening!

Leader. The GYLA which is in its 7th year, selects 20

Congratulations to the GYLA Class of 2015

student leaders who are engaged in three areas

1. Timber Anderson, senior at Gordon Central High School 2. Evan Barnard, junior at Johns Creek High School 3. Rosa Borja Martinez, senior at Marion County High School 4. Chad Carrodus, junior at George Walton Comprehensive High School 5. Sania Chandrani, senior at Parkview High School 6. Ima Christian, senior at Parkview High School 7. Reaganne Coile, junior at North Oconee High School 8. Lily Katherine Conneff, sophomore at St. Vincent’s Academy 9. Uwezo Flewellen II, junior at Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School 10. Connor Ford, senior at Mount Pisgah Christian School 11. Meionne Harvey, senior at Crisp County High School 12. Romeo Henderson, senior at Lovejoy High School 13. Furichous John Gene Jones IV, senior at Central High School 14. Sara Knighton, junior at Valwood School 15. Chirag Manyapu, senior at Northview High School 16. Clay Milling, senior at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School 17. Paul Serrato, senior at Apalachee High School 18. Aditya Sood, senior at Alpharetta High School 19. Morgan Taylor, sophomore at Gordon Lee High School 20. D’Khorvillyn Tyus, senior at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School

consisting of leadership, service and entrepreneurship. As a past honoree, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and interact with other honorees doing exceptional work. These honorees have personified excellent leadership, supported a plethora of causes and executed brilliant business plans. Honorees such as, Austin Jackson, who coordinated and implemented service into his school ROTC program, as Outreach Coordinator, and Cristy Jones, a bilingual student ambassador chosen by the Georgia PTA Board of Directors who encourages low-income students to pursue higher education, were both amazing recipients in the leadership category. Inspiring service stories have also been a highlight. Kirbe Bostick, started a breast cancer awareness project, which raised $2,500, in honor of her mother who passed away in 2012. This year’s winners are no exception and truly are remarkable young leaders. You can learn more about each 2015 GYLA winner on our student blog posts the rest of February (National Youth Leadership Month) leading 4

LET YOUTH VOICES BE HEARD

WINTER 2015

Success Tips for Senior Survival: How to Defeat the Money Muncher By: Joseph Wilson Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It opened on January 1,

After twelve long years of riding the bus, eating the school’s mystery meat, and dealing with

and the website is www.fafsa.ed.gov. A piece of

the dramas of school, the time has come to listen to

advice: make sure you go to fafsa.ed.gov and not

the “Pomp and Circumstance” as you walk across the

fafsa.com; FAFSA.com makes you pay to complete

stage! While this is an exciting and memorable year

the application! Scholarships are need and merit based and

for any senior, it can quickly become stressful when asked the dreadful question: “What college do you

come from many organizations. While their

want to attend?” This is by far the most important

applications may be time consuming, the end result

decision of any student, but with careful thought and

is worth it! Be mindful of deadlines, for many

discussion the perfect school can be found. .

scholarships have due dates around the same time! In addition, have a list of teachers and other

However, with new year (the time when most applications are due) in full swing, another equally

individuals who you would want a recommendation

important question comes into fruition: “How will I

from, and create an academic resume that lists all of

pay for college?” Finding the ways to pay for school is

your extracurricular activities, work experience, and

crucial, for too many students have enormous debts

accomplishments. Here are some websites were you

to pay years after graduating. There are three main

can search for scholarships.

forms of money for college: loans, grants and



www.cappex.com

scholarships. All three are good ways to pay for



www.fastweb.com



www.scholarships.com



www.zinch.com



www.google.com -Search 'scholarships for

college, but grants and scholarships are the best forms, for the money (unlike loans) does not have to be repaid!

seniors

Grants are awarded from the government and are need based. A common one is the Pell Grant, which will award the recipient the funds they qualify for. In

Seniors, enjoy your last year of high school,

order to be eligible for the grant and other financial

research thoroughly, and "may the odds be ever in

aid, be sure to complete the free application for

your favor!" Happy searching! 5

LET YOUTH VOICES BE HEARD

WINTER 2015

APPLICATION DEADLINES Wednesday, February 25th: SYLI & Turner Voices Youth Media Institute Wednesday, March 25th: EarthCare

APPLY NOW *Remember, current 21CL students only need to complete short-answer question. Go to the 21CL Login button to access your account and the link for each institute 6

LET YOUTH VOICES BE HEARD

WINTER 2015

International Coastal Cleanup By: Jansen Redler People know that trash in the water compromises the health of humans, wildlife and the livelihoods that depend on a healthy ocean; threatens tourism and recreation, and the critical dollars they add to our local economies; complicates shipping and transportation by causing navigation hazards; and generates steep bills for retrieval and removal. But what people donâ€™t know who cleans up all the trash in the waterways. The answer is no one does.

refreshment. We all got dirty and wet from picking up wet trash and trudging through mud and water. At the end, it felt good to know that I did my part in helping to clean up the waterways of the Earth. In total, 648,015 volunteers in total helped clean the waterways on September 20. And with all that help, we all managed to pull out 12,329,332 pounds of trash. And this was only 12,914 miles of the world that was cleaned. So much trash for such a little distance of the world. It is actually a little sad that our species have trashed this planet and are now trying to clean it so it will be back to what it once was. The number 10 things that were found were cigarettes buds, plastic bags, food wrappers, beverage bottles, bottle caps, paper bags, glass battles, sport balls, straws, and cans. Out of all of those, more than 15 million were collected were all of those combined. Of course the United States was the number one place that picked up the most trash, but Philippines came in second and that country is smaller than Canada who came in fourth. This all goes to show that no matter where in the world, there is trash to be picked up and thrown away or recycled.

Thatâ€™s why a company called The Ocean Conservatory created a program called the International Costal Cleanup. The ICC is a program, once a year, where people go to any waterway and clean up all the trash that they can find. Their mission is to clean up the waterways on earth to make it a better place to live in. This September 20, more than 400,000 people and 90 countries around the world participated in the International Costal Cleanup. My group this year picked up 60 full garbage size trash bags full of trash. Two of those were just filled with tennis balls and baseballs. There about 26 of us in total, not as much as last year, but it was enough to clean up quite a bit of trash. Since it was sponsored by coke, there were plenty of 7

By :Le mue lCobbs

LET YOUTH VOICES BE HEARD

WINTER 2015

By Kirstyn Dubar The 2015 Goizueta Youth Leadership Summit was held February 6 & 7 at the Emory University Goizueta Business School and Emory’s School of Law. The overall theme for the weekend was “Don’t Wait for Greatness” with the Friday and Saturday themes geared specifically to our two program partners, Sage One and Goizueta Gives. Although I was unable to attend the summit this year, as a Youth Leadership Council member, I was able to help on the back end with planning and helping determine the theme of the annual leadership summit weekend. This year, 74 students participated from over 35 different Georgia high schools. We even had a few of the most recent GYLA winners attend the summit as their first 21CL experience. The weekend was one to remember! Here’s a recap reported by 21CL students: Friday: (Sponsored by Sage One) Sage approached the interactive day with the saying “What’s the Big Idea?” The day was inspired by taking idea and making it a reality whether it’s a concept or product one might have in mind. Students came to the summit with ideas and worked together on one of those ideas and presented to a panel of Sage professionals. Congrats to the first place team: Evan Barnard, Brittani Floyd, Brandon Mcdowell, Jenai Richards, Keith Strozier, and Alvin Winston Friday night: Overnight students attended the Atlanta Hawks vs. Golden State Warriors game and Atlanta took home the win. Saturday: (Led by the Goizueta Gives team and over 50 MBA students from the business school) Throughout the day, 21CL students participated in workshops geared toward social responsibility, personal branding and a Youth Action Center business case. Congratulations to Youth Action Center at Centennial High School for winning this year’s business case competition: Lauren Williams, Celia Senerman, Tristan Willis, and Alyssa Johnson. When I attended the 2014 Youth Leadership Summit, I was able to reconnect with all of my friends and hear how they have gotten closer to achieving their grand goals was great. The Summit also gave a revived since of inspiration. Being with your fellow leaders can give new a new and positive perspective on the future and what you can bring into it. Can’t wait to see what next year’s GYLS brings!

Watch this GYLS Recap Video

21CL’s #Trending Here’s a compilation of various trends and happenings in the social world that

we think all of our fellow leaders should check out!!

Top 10 Playlist Checklist 1. Uptown Funk • Mark Ronson 2. Thinking Out Loud • Ed Sheeran 3. Take Me To Church • Hoxier 4. GDFR • Flo Rida 5. Sugar • Maroon 5 6. Centuries • Fall Out Boy 7. Jealous • Nick Jonas 8. I’m Not the Only One • Sam Smith 9. Chandelier • Sia 10. 7/11 • Beyonce