EE talar till BBYO IC 2013 och School for Ethics and Global Leadership

In this blog post, Emily reflects on a day of presentations at BBYO’s International Convention and the School for Ethics and Global Leadership, which focused on youth activism, Emily’s Entourage and the quest for a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

We’re just back from a whirlwind trip to DC where we presented on youth activism and Emily’s Entourage at BBYO’s 2013 International Convention och School for Ethics and Global Leadership. It was such an honor to present and we were absolutely blown away by the high school audiences!

We presented two sessions at BBYO’s International Convention (IC) and then spoke to a much more intimate crowd at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership. The common theme was how proactive, interested and passionate these high schoolers were. It was really so uplifting to experience!

One of the best parts of the day was watching our audience literally double in the second session at IC. Apparently word travels fast in this crowd!! I say that not to boast about the quality of our presentation, but because it reflects the engagement and commitment of these remarkable teenagers.

We overheard comments in the hall like, “Wait, where’s the Emily’s Entourage presentation? [Insert friend’s name] texted to say that it was awesome and I had to attend!” It was clear the high schoolers took to heart our message about using social media to spread the word. After the presentations, they immediately starting tweeting about Emily’s Entourage and encouraging their friends to join the team. Here are just a few of the tweets they posted:

“Probably the most inspirational time of my life. #EmilysEntourage #EE4CFCure.”

“So inspired by everyone involved in @EmsEnourage4CF #staystrongemily #azabbbgic2013”

“Get this trending — #emilysentourage #soinspired”

Pretty amazing, right? I’m telling you, these high schoolers were AWESOME.

I was also so impressed by the questions and creative fundraising ideas they had, and I particularly enjoyed being able to connect one-on-one with audience members after the presentation. I wish I was half as proactive and socially engaged at such a young age as these high schoolers clearly are!

People spend a lot of time criticizing youth these days. After our experience this weekend, I challenge them to spend some time with these particular groups. It was an incredibly heartening and inspiring experience for us, and we’re so excited to see what comes from it!

What I can say for sure is that with the future in the hands of these amazing, pro-social and passionate high school leaders, I have faith that we’re heading somewhere good. Snaps to that!

**Special shout-out to the Bernstein family for making this possible and putting up with the KGs for an entire 30+ hours! We couldn’t have done it without you! THANK YOU!

- Emily