Purpose:• To establish a national network of emerging leaders from among the studentpopulation served by TRIO Programs;• To develop service-oriented leaders, empowered and skilled to serve theircommunities and their nation;• To enable Talent Search, Upward Bound, and Upward Bound Math and Sciencestudents to understand national issues affecting their futures; and• To promote sensitivity to and appreciation of cultural and racial diversity.

Program:• A six-day residential experience designed to introduce students to elements ofeffective leadership;• Workshops on decision-making and problem solving; national service; leadershipstyles, attributes and skills; the political process and coalition building;multiculturalism and diversity;• Sessions with policy-makers and educational leaders;• Meetings with Members of Congress;• A Mock Congressional Hearing; and• Visits to Historical and Cultural Sites.

Outcomes:• Increased awareness of leadership potential;• Enhanced leadership skills in group decision making, planning and goal setting;conflict resolution and negotiating;• Greater knowledge of the role of the individual and the role of alliances in shapingnational priorities; and of career opportunities in government, public service andeducation;• Increased sensitivity toward people of different cultural and racial backgrounds andinsight into the institutional barriers hindering the achievement of equality; and• Increased understanding of the responsibilities of citizenship through service.

About the National Student Leadership Congress

Since 1990, the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) has hosted the National StudentLeadership Congress (NSLC) in Washington D.C.

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Summary

For the first time in 26 years, COE’s annual National Student Leadership Congress took place at Georgetown University, June 6-11, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Over 150student delegates from Talent Search and Upward Bound programs from 24 statesand Guam came together for a transformational leadership experience. During thistime, students participated in cultural trips to D.C. monuments, including a visit to theUnited States Supreme Court, Capitol Hill (where many students met with theirRepresentatives), the Holocaust Museum, and other D.C. landmarks. The hallmarkevent of the student gathering was a Mock Congress for which they drafted their ownlegislation. They also attended workshops on leadership skills, conflict resolution, anddiversity.

On Sunday, June 7, the student delegates began their day with a three-hourinteractive training led by Larry Bell, Director of the National Coalition BuildingInstitute, DC. The focus of the training was to guide students to break down socialand cultural barriers and foster connections with their peers by sharing theirexperiences, claiming ownership in their identity and ultimately looking beyond theirdifferences to relate to each other by lifting up the similarities between them.Students concluded the session by challenging one another to take the knowledgethat they gained during the session to continue to foster togetherness in theircommunities and schools.

Highlights

Diversity and Inclusion Training with Larry Bell

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On the evening of June 7th the studentdelegates participated in a guided tour ofWashington, D.C. This educational touremphasized the significance of the historicalsites they visited within the greater context ofAmerican history. The group had theopportunity to spend an extended period oftime at the White House, the Lincoln Memorial,and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

On Monday, June 8, after visiting the Holocaust Museum, the TRIO delegates hadthe rare opportunity to be addressed by Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the U.S.Supreme Court. The Justice was warm and candid in her remarks to the students.She shared the challenges she faced growing up as a Latina from a working classfamily in the Bronx while emphasizing that she never let her low-incomebackground hinder her ambition to accomplish great things. After her remarks,Justice Sotomayor graciously answered questions from several students. Theirquestion topics ranged from what inspired her to work in public service to howshe overcame obstacles managing her type-one diabetes from a young age.When asked which characteristic kept her driven to keep pushing forward whileattending Princeton and Yale, and throughout her career, she said it was herstubbornness that kept her focused on her goals. Justice Sotomayor ended herremarks by saying that she felt connected to the students in the room because oftheir common backgrounds and encouraged them not to be discouraged by theirhumble beginnings, but instead to use them as motivation to achieve great things.Many students expressed their appreciation to the Justice in thank you letters thatwere delivered to her chambers.

Visiting the Supreme Court

Tour of the National Monuments

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TRIO Hill Day

On Tuesday, June 9, the student delegates connectedwith alumni and participated in a day of advocacy onCapitol Hill. The morning began with a panel discussionfeaturing TRIO alumni who are working on Capitol Hill.Panelists included: Victoria Hill, Talent Search Alumnaand Legislative Correspondent for Rep. BruceWesterman (R-AK-4); Victoria Duron, LegislativeAssistant for Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY); TierraEvans, Upward Bound Alumna and Constituent ServicesRepresentative for U.S. Senator Tom Carper; and JasonSpear, Talent Search and Upward Bound alumna andLegislative Associate and Deputy CommunicationDirector for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton(D-DC). During the panel the presenters shared theirpersonal stories about their transition from being TRIOstudents to working on Capitol Hill. They also sharedinsights about what to expect during their visits inCongressional offices and answered questions from thestudents.

After the panel the students went to their scheduledvisits to meet with members of Congress and staff fromtheir home districts. The students were prepared toshare their personal stories of how their participation inTRIO helped them academically and is preparing themto be successful in higher education. They also askedtheir member to support funding for TRIO so that theseprograms can continue to help future generations ofstudents.

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Metropolitan State University of DenverUpward Bound students with Colorado

Senator Michael F. Bennet

Mock Congress

The Winning Group: "A Bill to Require the United States Federal Government toSubstantially Curtail its Domestic Surveillance,"

presented by Easton Browning and Guetta Vital.

On Wednesday, June 10, students participated in theMock Congress, a group-based competition in whichthey gave multimedia presentations for bills for theirfellow delegates to vote on. Some of the topicspresented included:- Unionizing Student Athletes;- Progressive Taxation;- Genetically Modified Foods; and- Free College Tuition

Throughout the week, students spent several hours eachday researching topics and preparing persuasivearguments for legislation to be presented to their peersduring the Mock Congress. Each group selected twodelegates to serve as representatives to present the billthat they had worked as a team to construct. Each groupwas given three minutes for their presentation followedby two minutes of questioning by their fellow delegates.After all of the presentations were completed, thestudent delegates voted to choose the winning bill. Thewinning team was announced during the LeadershipBanquet that evening.

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Leadership Banquet with Michael Muse

The Leadership Banquet was the closing event of the Leadership Congress. Duringthis event, students shared testimonies of how life-changing their experience hadbeen. The winning group from the Mock Congress was announced, and studentsshowed their appreciation for their counselors. Michael Muse, an alumnus of theUpward Bound program at Michigan State University, a leader in the music industryand political activist, served as the keynote speaker for the Leadership Banquet.During his remarks he reflected on his experiences as a low-income first-generationstudent living in Michigan and told how he was motivated to complete his highereducation in engineering and make the shift from the STEM field to the entertainmentindustry. Muse encouraged the students to “friend” him on Facebook and follow himon Twitter—and even created a special hashtag for them to use: #triomuse. After hisremarks, he spent time speaking with each of the students who gathered to thank himfor his inspirational and energizing message.

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Looking Forward

This year Georgetown University provided an excellent location and exceptionalfacilities for the 2015 National Student Leadership Congress. We are currently in theprocess of confirming dates for the 2016 Leadership Congress. We look forward todeveloping our partnership with Georgetown for many years to come.

In 2016 we are planning to highlight higher education opportunities in WashingtonD.C. in NSLC programming. The Washington metro-area is home to many of thecountry's most reputable colleges and universities. We are exploring ways toincorporate campus visits and information sessions with admissions professionals intothe student activities next year.

This year, NSLC featured two alumni panels that highlighted TRIO studentexperiences, navigating through higher education at elite colleges and universitiesand making the transition to working on Capitol Hill. We are organizing career-centricQ&A roundtables with TRIO alumni for NSLC 2016 that will allow student delegatesto have the opportunity to engage in in-depth conversations on topics that relate totheir academic and professional interests. We believe that the Leadership Congressprovides an ideal setting for the student delegates to make connections with peersand potential mentors as they map out their pathways to the future.

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