To Be the Leaders of Tomorrow, Students Need to Learn Essential Skills — Today

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In a 2023 poll conducted by the U.S. News-Harris Poll survey, 86% of Americans voiced deep disappointment in society’s leaders, believing them ill-equipped to handle today’s crises and failing to reflect the values cherished by everyday Americans. Moreover, a significant number feel that instead of advancing society, the nation’s current leaders are hindering progress, and in some cases, making things worse. Recent findings from an NPR/PBS News/Marist National Poll reveal that 60% of Americans do not want their kids to be president of the United States — a position that was once regarded as the pinnacle of influence and an aspiration by families across the nation. These findings paint a stark picture: America is facing a profound leadership crisis.

Great leaders are nurtured, not born. They arise from a combination of education, mentorship, encouragement and practical experience. Service learning — an approach where students apply academic and civic knowledge and skills to address real community needs — provides young people with the vital hands-on experiences needed to develop leadership skills. These include investigating real community issues, designing effective programs and implementing those solutions in real life. Such real-life experiences immerse students in curiosity, creativity and empathy — all of which are essential for effective leadership. Programs that provide service learning can help develop these skills and empower young people to effect positive change in their schools and neighborhoods.

One such program was launched in 2022 by the National Youth Leadership Council for students in grades 6 to 12. This program invites teams of at least two students, plus an adult mentor, to create service-learning projects in one of four focus areas: education equity, community health, environmental justice or civics and democracy.

Teams take a deep dive into an issue affecting their community by investigating, exploring and understanding specific needs to identify a meaningful and impactful project to take on. Since its launch, the program has served 1,420 students across 29 states and 71 schools and organizations, fostering essential leadership skills and values, and empowering young people — with their boundless energy, creativity, and passion for change — to lead from an early age. 

Developing projects based on community needs hones collaboration skills with peers and local partners. It builds young people’s understanding of systemic issues and root causes, fosters a sense of civic responsibility, taps into empathy and offers opportunities for action and advocacy.

Across the nation, students have used service learning to tackle issues like water conservation, recycling and distracted driving. One student team in New York investigated the negative impacts of the overuse of social media by teens. They developed a “5 Hour Free Friday” campaign, which encourages teens to disconnect from social media and technology for five hours on Fridays in an effort to improve mental health and self-esteem. The team’s efforts resulted in local media attention, sparking important conversations in St. Lawrence County about social media’s impact. Upon presenting their campaign to their local board of legislators, over 100 community members signed up to participate.

Another student team from northern California focused on the lack of financial education resources among underprivileged communities. They developed a free curriculum and offered free in-person and online financial literacy workshops for kids between the ages of 7 and 11. These efforts can help families start to build generational wealth, close economic gaps and ease financial instability. 

A team from New Jersey known as H20 Heroes embarked on a mission to investigate access to water in places around the world where it is scarce. They found that women and girls are predominantly responsible for collecting water in households where there is no indoor plumbing. In rural India, for example, women and girls walk an average of 2 miles daily, often bearing the heavy burden on their heads. This not only leads to severe health problems, but prevents them from pursuing employment and education, reinforcing the cycle of poverty. In response, the students committed to raising funds to support Wells on Wheels, an initiative that provides water households in India. The leadership team hosted a Water Summit for fifth- and sixth-graders in their school districts, ran a fund-raising contest and sold reusable water bottles.

Research demonstrates that students engaged in service learning exhibit improved self-esteem, academic performance, civic engagement and social skills. For instance, during the pandemic, student leaders from Chicago collaborated with a local health organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a bilingual campaign to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in the Latino community. One student who spoke to the leadership council about the experience remarked, “I realized that youth can be a force for global change. This experience opened my eyes to the daily issues affecting our world.”

Such experiences have the power to create the next generation of leaders this nation needs; leaders who respond to the challenges of the world while embodying values like empathy, integrity, transparency, respect and commitment.

Now, more than ever, teens need to be empowered with the education, mentorship and opportunities needed to become the transformative leaders the nation urgently requires. Delaying leadership education until college or adulthood risks wasting young people’s potential. The question is not whether America can afford to invest in the leadership development of today’s youth, but whether it can afford not to.

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