Two Sides of the Room: A Youth Summit Reflection

Part of the Isa’s Corner series: reflections on belonging, identity, and community in Battle Creek.

On March 24th, BCTRHT hosted their annual Youth Summit for all high school students in Calhoun County. I have attended this summit the past two years. Last year as a graduating senior in high school, and this year as a BCTRHT intern. From simply attending as a student to helping organize and documenting the event, I learned so much.

In 2025, the Youth Summit was offered as an all day field trip that invited high school students county-wide to learn about how to make lasting change in their community. We began the day by creating community agreements which set the tone for how we could interact, show up for ourselves, and show up for others in this space. I met students from Battle Creek Central, Marshall, and Harper Creek during this trip as a Lakeview student, which led me to feel very connected to my community. After this group became familiar with one another, we did a “Circle of Direction” Activity. This was the most memorable activity of the day. This activity required all students to get up, stand in a line shoulder to shoulder, listen for “take a step forward if…” prompts, and take a step when the prompt applied to you. The prompts ranged from topics of self-love, social justice, identity, and impact. Being able to see that beneath all of us being awkward teenagers that we all had dreams, struggles, passions, and aspirations for a better future.

 A big takeaway from this event was the emphasis on being authentic and grounded to my personal values. I hadn’t necessarily thought about my personal values and how to stay true to them. However, through intentional worksheets and reflection, I left the summit feeling aligned to myself and motivated to go forward. As a high school senior I greatly took advantage of this event because it led me to the intern position I hold today. Because of the youth summit I’ve been able to stay true to my values and move forward in the professional world. 

On March 24th, I was able to attend the Youth Summit as a BCTRHT intern. Before the event I took part in planning, promoting the summit online, and designing graphics. So for me, being in the room felt different, although only 1 year had passed. I was asked to take pictures of the event, capture videos, and make social media posts about the event. In order to do this, I sat with different groups of students, joined discussions, and tried to make all the youth feel comfortable in the space. 

A very special part of the day was when adults, volunteers, and staff members were asked to lead groups of 6-8 students during a Scenario Mapping Activity. Students were asked to find a solution to a social injustice scenario using proactive and responsive action. I was excited to lead my group of students, assign roles, and find solutions. Ultimately, this was a learning experience for me because my group taught me that to lead was to listen. They didn’t need me to talk at them or speak for them. They each brought different perspectives, considerations, and solutions to our scenario that I had not thought of before. This showed me that being a leader for youth is really about planting seeds rather than steering the ship.

Reflecting on my experiences at the Youth Summit as a student and as an adult I learned two very different lessons. As a student I learned the importance of staying true to your values and the importance of recognizing our shared humanity. And as an adult, I learned that to lead and empower youth we must create spaces for them to rise.

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Isa’s Corner is a storytelling series exploring belonging, identity, and community through the reflections of a young leader growing and learning in Battle Creek.