Aim High intern, Dolores Rodriguez, at the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. “What struck me the most was how aware students are about everything going on in the world. They recognized why summer programs are so important given the state of the world, and they knew the power of using their voices to talk with senators and their staffers. This next generation is not playing around, they not only see it, but they are doing something about it.” – Jackie Arreola, Aim High Program Associate and former College Intern In July 2022, Aim High community members, Jackie Arreola and Dolores Rodriguez, traveled to Washington DC as attendees of the National Summer Learning Association’s (NSLA) inaugural National Youth Leadership Institute. Jackie, Aim High’s Program and Admissions Associate and former College Intern, and her sister, Aim High graduate and current High School Intern, Dolores, represented Aim High on the campus of American University with staff from all 75 NSLA National Award Winning Summer Learning Programs. Throughout the week, they met with legislators, toured Capitol Hill, and built relationships with peers, mentors and experts to demonstrate the value of summer learning to national policymakers, media and partners. Q: What was your reaction when you learned about NSLA’s invitation to attend the National Youth Leadership Institute? Dolores: I was surprised and kind of scared to represent Aim High because I wasn’t sure I could do it. But as soon as I saw other students there, I was grateful to share my opinion and I also shared my friends’ opinions to make sure their voice was heard. This was my first time outside of California and I was excited to go! Jackie: When I was Dolores’s age I had an opportunity to go to D.C. with our older sister and it was really eye opening. I was excited to see Dolores go through the experience. Q: What were some of the moments that stood out to you from the trip? Dolores: When we got there, we settled into the dorms at American University and got to know the other NSLA students, who were from all over–Washington state, Tennessee, Miami, and there were a lot of New Yorkers {laughs}. Jackie: In order to meet with Senator Patty Murray’s staffers, we went to the Senate building, where we had to go through metal detectors and x-ray machines. We couldn’t take pictures of anything and it became clear that this was because there were very important people in that room. Decorated soldiers, government professionals having very formal lunch meetings, and no one was looking at us like, “What are they doing here?” We were taking up space in a building with important people because we had something to say. Q: What about your Aim High summer experiences did you want to make sure got across to our lawmakers? Jackie: Even though there were so many students at the conference from all across the country, some common themes emerged for summer programs, especially once we saw COVID disrupt education. Summer programming is so helpful for students because we’re playing catchup with learning and development. Students are not receiving the resources they needed and that translated across all the programs represented. Q: What surprised you? Dolores: Oh! I didn’t know we would go to the Dept of Education where we got to share our summer learning experiences with the Secretary of Education (Miguel Cardona). And we also met with Speaker Pelosi’s staff to share what programs like Aim High need in terms of funding and the importance of paid internships. It’s so important for youth to have career experiences so they can learn what they want in the future or change career paths. Internships are not always possible if students also need to help out their families financially. Jackie: I think what surprised me as a chaperone was seeing how aware students are about everything going on in the world. They recognized why summer programs are so important given the state of the world, and they knew the power of using their voices to talk with senators and their staffers. This next generation is not playing around, they not only see it, but they are doing something about it. Q: Now that you’re back from the trip, what has stayed with you? Jackie: It inspired me to want to potentially move to D.C. It was a real eye-opener in terms of who is advocating for you in the Capitol. Representation matters a lot, and there is an entire group of people who are not as represented as they could be, but a foot in the door can be impactful and shows how much your voice and your story matter. Dolores: I like the idea of how youth and people of color could speak for themselves. I’m interested in the community opinion. Plus, the Senators gave us their business cards and said to reach out if we wanted to say more.