Nominator Frequently Asked Questions
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Thank you for your interest in submitting a nominee for the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference! Below, we have provided a list of the most frequently asked questions regarding the planning and execution of our annual event. If you have any concerns that are not addressed below, please contact our Conference Directors by emailing [email protected]. They will be happy to answer any questions remaining regarding the event!
What is the Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation's Vision?
Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation (MYL Foundation) seeks to empower citizenship through actively engaging high school sophomores in conversation and action to build their confidence and potential as positive agents of change, development, and service in their communities. The workshops, speakers, and activities planned for the 3-day Conference aim to demonstrate to students how central they are—as individuals and as a community of young people—in transforming their world. With the knowledge and experience acquired at the conference, students return to schools as better citizens, eager to affect change through work they can do in collaboration with others. The idea of empowerment is central to our vision, demonstrating that great student leaders can have a real impact on the people and environments around them. These student leaders are present in classrooms all across the Commonwealth, and our Citizenship Conference helps students to expand their talents and networks to better serve their schools, their communities, and the students themselves well into the future.
How does the MYL Foundation accomplish this vision through the MassSTAR Conference?
The MassSTAR Citizenship Conference employs highly interactive and experiential learning experiences to fulfill our mission of building stronger, more responsible students and citizens. Conference staff mixes intense but informal workshops, leadership exercises, and participatory panels and speakers to paint a picture to students of how they can become change agents in their communities and world. The content of the weekend’s activities is designed to inspire change in students as well as broaden and enhance their perspective on what community is, critically looking not only at global, hard-to conceptualize issues but also identifying similar problems on the scale of school, city/town, and state. Through broadening the scope of what delegates perceive as the people in their communities, delegates receive a more accurate picture of where there is need, how they can lead, and how they are called to action to incorporate themselves in as central parts of a solution.
What is the expected outcome of the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
Our learning outcomes are based on the “points of the STAR,” the core values which guide the work of the Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation. During the MassSTAR conference, delegates will…
Who designs and implements the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
The 2020 MassSTAR Conference Planning Committee is comprised of adults and students from around Massachusetts, many of whom are MYL Foundation alumni and have been involved in the planning and implementation of the Citizenship Conference for years. The Conference Planning Committee works closely with MYL Foundation’s Board of Directors to create a vision and theme for each conference, to raise funds for Conference implementation, to carefully select Conference staff, and to recruit facilitators of workshops, speakers, and panels. The Committee and the Board draw on their extensive professional experience and their network throughout Massachusetts to bring in the most effective, hard-hitting materials available to fulfill our aim with our student delegates. MYL Foundation’s President is Cristian Bedoya.
What is the process for hiring staff for the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
The MassSTAR Citizenship Conference is 100% volunteer-operated, with a staff of approximately 45 volunteers to execute the program during the weekend. After submitting an application, which includes providing professional and personal references, all applicants are reviewed by the Conference Planning Committee. All volunteer positions are contingent upon successful completion of a CORI background check; for more information on this process, please see the MYL Foundation CORI policy.
Who is eligible for the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
Any diploma-granting, accredited public or private Massachusetts high school or charter school may nominate a sophomore, and all are encouraged to apply. Select one primary representative and one alternate representative from your school. All delegates must attend the full three days of the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference; delegates are not permitted to leave campus during the event. If the primary delegate has a conflict during the event, we will offer the position to the alternate provided from your school.
“Can I send more than one student? Do I have to nominate a sophomore student?”
Although we would love to be able to accept more students, at this point in time, we only have the capacity for one student from every school to attend the conference. By being the only representative from their school, delegates are often more empowered to be their authentic selves while meeting new people, which allows them to have a meaningful experience that is truly unique to them. Our conference is specifically geared towards sophomore students due to the critical time they are in their high school career. For many, the conference is an opportunity to grow and increase one’s confidence and leadership skills. Sophomores have the opportunity to continue to enact change in their schools throughout the remaining two years of their high school careers. Additionally, we hope that the workshops and lectures during the conference can aid the students as they begin their college and/or career pursuits. We have found that the great potential in sophomore students leads to a truly impactful conference.
What does the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference cost?
The conference is provided at no cost to students, their parents, or their schools. Our generous sponsors, dedicated volunteers, supporting businesses, and partner organizations raise all funds needed to facilitate the conference. All expenses except for transportation to and from the conference site are fully covered. We believe that no student should feel dissuaded or unable to attend due to a transportation or financial burden: any delegate who requires assistance should feel free to contact the Conference Directors and we will be happy to make needed arrangements.
What additional opportunities are available to delegates after the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
Delegates, as well as their parents and schools, become part of the Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation Family following their participation in a conference. Many opportunities are available to this close-knit community as students, parents, and school staff come together to continue the work that students begin at the Conference:
What is the Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation's Vision?
Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation (MYL Foundation) seeks to empower citizenship through actively engaging high school sophomores in conversation and action to build their confidence and potential as positive agents of change, development, and service in their communities. The workshops, speakers, and activities planned for the 3-day Conference aim to demonstrate to students how central they are—as individuals and as a community of young people—in transforming their world. With the knowledge and experience acquired at the conference, students return to schools as better citizens, eager to affect change through work they can do in collaboration with others. The idea of empowerment is central to our vision, demonstrating that great student leaders can have a real impact on the people and environments around them. These student leaders are present in classrooms all across the Commonwealth, and our Citizenship Conference helps students to expand their talents and networks to better serve their schools, their communities, and the students themselves well into the future.
How does the MYL Foundation accomplish this vision through the MassSTAR Conference?
The MassSTAR Citizenship Conference employs highly interactive and experiential learning experiences to fulfill our mission of building stronger, more responsible students and citizens. Conference staff mixes intense but informal workshops, leadership exercises, and participatory panels and speakers to paint a picture to students of how they can become change agents in their communities and world. The content of the weekend’s activities is designed to inspire change in students as well as broaden and enhance their perspective on what community is, critically looking not only at global, hard-to conceptualize issues but also identifying similar problems on the scale of school, city/town, and state. Through broadening the scope of what delegates perceive as the people in their communities, delegates receive a more accurate picture of where there is need, how they can lead, and how they are called to action to incorporate themselves in as central parts of a solution.
What is the expected outcome of the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
Our learning outcomes are based on the “points of the STAR,” the core values which guide the work of the Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation. During the MassSTAR conference, delegates will…
- Explore how their personal identities intersect with others in their communities and the world at large. (Respect)
- Identify opportunities for making change in their communities. (Responsibility)
- Explore practical and theoretical strategies for implementing the change they have identified. (Initiative)
- Expand their definition of community and engage in effective communication, active listening, and critical thinking. (Collaboration)
- Consider and articulate the “why” behind their change-making and leadership. (Intentionality)
Who designs and implements the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
The 2020 MassSTAR Conference Planning Committee is comprised of adults and students from around Massachusetts, many of whom are MYL Foundation alumni and have been involved in the planning and implementation of the Citizenship Conference for years. The Conference Planning Committee works closely with MYL Foundation’s Board of Directors to create a vision and theme for each conference, to raise funds for Conference implementation, to carefully select Conference staff, and to recruit facilitators of workshops, speakers, and panels. The Committee and the Board draw on their extensive professional experience and their network throughout Massachusetts to bring in the most effective, hard-hitting materials available to fulfill our aim with our student delegates. MYL Foundation’s President is Cristian Bedoya.
What is the process for hiring staff for the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
The MassSTAR Citizenship Conference is 100% volunteer-operated, with a staff of approximately 45 volunteers to execute the program during the weekend. After submitting an application, which includes providing professional and personal references, all applicants are reviewed by the Conference Planning Committee. All volunteer positions are contingent upon successful completion of a CORI background check; for more information on this process, please see the MYL Foundation CORI policy.
Who is eligible for the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
Any diploma-granting, accredited public or private Massachusetts high school or charter school may nominate a sophomore, and all are encouraged to apply. Select one primary representative and one alternate representative from your school. All delegates must attend the full three days of the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference; delegates are not permitted to leave campus during the event. If the primary delegate has a conflict during the event, we will offer the position to the alternate provided from your school.
“Can I send more than one student? Do I have to nominate a sophomore student?”
Although we would love to be able to accept more students, at this point in time, we only have the capacity for one student from every school to attend the conference. By being the only representative from their school, delegates are often more empowered to be their authentic selves while meeting new people, which allows them to have a meaningful experience that is truly unique to them. Our conference is specifically geared towards sophomore students due to the critical time they are in their high school career. For many, the conference is an opportunity to grow and increase one’s confidence and leadership skills. Sophomores have the opportunity to continue to enact change in their schools throughout the remaining two years of their high school careers. Additionally, we hope that the workshops and lectures during the conference can aid the students as they begin their college and/or career pursuits. We have found that the great potential in sophomore students leads to a truly impactful conference.
What does the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference cost?
The conference is provided at no cost to students, their parents, or their schools. Our generous sponsors, dedicated volunteers, supporting businesses, and partner organizations raise all funds needed to facilitate the conference. All expenses except for transportation to and from the conference site are fully covered. We believe that no student should feel dissuaded or unable to attend due to a transportation or financial burden: any delegate who requires assistance should feel free to contact the Conference Directors and we will be happy to make needed arrangements.
What additional opportunities are available to delegates after the MassSTAR Citizenship Conference?
Delegates, as well as their parents and schools, become part of the Massachusetts Youth Leadership Foundation Family following their participation in a conference. Many opportunities are available to this close-knit community as students, parents, and school staff come together to continue the work that students begin at the Conference:
- MassSTAR Alumni Association: With hundreds of students passing through the program each year, new delegates find themselves in good company with other recent conference alums as they unite in the MassSTAR Alumni Association. Its membership is comprised of our active and vibrant alumni, who meet and interact to plan events, participate as staff in future conferences, plan and implement community service projects, and assist each other across school communities in their citizenship and leadership projects. It remains a place for students (and parents, through their own separate meetings) to come together, engage in meaningful friendship, and continue the dialogue and demonstration that began at the Conference and turn it into citizenship in action.
- Citizenship and Service in Action: After the Conference, each delegate is challenged (although not required) to undertake a community service project or to participate regularly in community service for the remainder of their high school career. Throughout the conference, the idea of leadership is in constant connection volunteer service: in order to be strong leaders in a community, one needs to demonstrate through action a willingness to serve, and only in this service is real change achieved. If delegates complete and log 100 hours of service in the year following the conference, they are eligible to receive the Congressional Award, recognition from America’s Promise, and the President’s Student Service Award.
- Empowered Citizen Grants: MassSTAR delegates are also eligible to apply for annual Empowered Citizen -Grants. Awarded by MYL Foundation, these grant awards provide financial support for community projects that a single delegate or a group of delegates propose for their school or town communities. Each year, these grants help delegates to realize their potential to be agents of change they envision in their own communities through the work that they have designed and implemented. These grants also serve as excellent bridges to the MassSTAR community through the inclusion of delegates’ high school peers in service projects. Application dates are announced at the end of the conference and all delegates are encouraged to apply.
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