DiversityFIRST™ Youth Leadership Program

DiversityFirst Youth Leadership Program is the first leadership program for at-risk senior high school students throughout Texas. High schools will be invited to send a maximum of three (3) students from diverse backgrounds.

The leadership sessions will be held during the summer will be for three (3) consecutive weeks. The format of the program will be structured in an interactive, classroom and workshop-group setting.  These carefully structured interactive workshops, small group discussions, and learning environments will allow students to acquire peer leadership and conflict resolution skills necessary to succeed in a multiculturally diverse environment. It will also give the students an opportunity to explore and feel confident to initiate dialogue on class subjects that are not usually pursued by minority high school students such as: Science, Engineering and Mathematics.

Annually, one hundred students representing more than 20 high schools (Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas) will attend one of the five-day residential “Leading for Diversity” sessions at Rice University in Houston. Graduates of the program will be prepared to utilize the skills they acquire as they enter schools of higher education, the community and eventually the workforce.