On Saturday April 8, 23 student leaders from four different NEK high schools gathered together at Lyndon institute to explore diversity and leadership. This event, the first of its kind, was called the DEI Social Justice Youth Leadership Summit and was sponsored by LI's JEDI (Justice, Equity Diversity, and Inclusion) club.

JEDI’s president, senior Gemma Stowell, led the effort to plan and host the summit. She said, “ I really wanted to have the Summit this year since this is my last year at Lyndon Institute…it was our second year of having the JEDI club. Last year we did smaller events and were able to analyze how successful projects were with our student body. We had a lot of support last year with focus groups, and it seemed like the Summit would also be a success if we made room for this conversation-style learning.” Stowell was supported by JEDI advisors Jill Nichols and Chris Manges. When asked about hosting the Summit at this time, Nichols said, “It was important for the Summit to happen now because we live in a time where confusion reigns about what Social Justice is and why it matters. Gathering a group of students who are clearly passionate leaders and want to make a difference in the world was one way for us to spread awareness of Social Justice in our community. As said by Martin Luther King Jr, ‘The time is always right to do right.’”

Students from LI, St. Johnsbury Academy, North Country, and Blue Mountain Union heard presentations and participated in discussions from Umbrella, NAMI Vermont (National Alliance for Mental Illness), and Outright Vermont throughout the 7.5 hour Summit. Students were asked to learn, listen, and discuss together ideas for moving forward the goals of diversity and inclusion. Bri Allegra, LI senior, said that her favorite presentation came when, “Chelsea (Umbrella) discussed the triangle of beliefs around sexual harm against anyone. This worked with my group well and we had an open discussion about our experiences and our school experiences with relationship harm, mental abuse harm, and physical abuse. It was excellent for all of us to come together and talk and learn a few things about strategies.”

Participants also heard speakers Jodi Wheeler from H.O.P.E., Lindsay Carpenter from LI’s Upward Bound program, and Aaliyah Wilburn from North Country, who delivered a speech she wrote on diversity for the Rotary Club’s annual speech content. A keynote discussion was delivered by Vermont State Representative Taylor Small, Vermont’s first openly transexual state representative. Small spoke to the students about being aware of their personal power as well as the importance of sitting and talking with people who may not agree with them. She told the story about her first lunch as an official in Montpelier and how she purposely sat with legislators whose views did not align with hers. "We spoke about grandchildren," she said, emphasizing the importance of building relationships with people and seeing them as whole people, not just voices of a single issue. 

When asked why holding this Summit was important, LI junior Hayden Marceau said, “It's important to have one of these summits because our futures rely on us. We are our own leaders and will continue to be with the help of our others as we grow into more cemented individuals in our community. It's important to have these summits because without them, we wouldn't connect as well in an environment that is meant to connect specifically us leaders who can be turning points in our world.”

The summit concluded with a presentation and discussion led by 2022 Miss Vermont Alexina Federhen, representing NAMI, who spoke about mental health needs and support. As people struggling with identity issues often experience mental health challenges, Federhen encouraged attendees to seek support right away and always to "advocate for yourself." Stowell said that it was great for the students to hear from local partners such as Wheeler and Carpenter, but also to hear from these outside groups who specialize in supporting people working through all types of issues: “It allowed for local facilitators to join us and have that sense of familiarity, while at the same time the school was exposed to new guest speakers that hadn't formed that relationship with LI yet…It was lovely to see that all of the guest speakers and facilitators spoke about things that connected with each other. We could not have picked a better group to speak about these topics.”

Stowell concluded the Summit by overseeing the awarding of certificates of participation to all students who attended and thanking all who came together. She said, “the Summit went better than I ever could have imagined. Saturday was a space of vulnerability, empathy, and courage. I witnessed many people connecting with others that they had just met that day and sharing personal stories and perspectives.” When asked what she hoped students would get out of attending, Nichols said, “I was hoping students would walk away from the Summit with the knowledge that they are not alone. Social justice is important work and there are other students and adults in their communities who want to share in the work." Manges added, “I think this was a hugely successful event especially for it being the first time it has happened. We hear about things happening in other parts of the state that are more progressive but the NEK is different. And yet youth here need these sorts of resources as much or perhaps more than other areas because of how resistant many are around here to any sort of change especially regarding DEI…These young people are the future and want the resources to be able to have these courageous conversations with their peers as well as adults. We owe it to them to make this possible.”

Allegra described the Summit as, “positive and resourceful.” The overall message of the Summit was, according to Nichols, “You matter, you have a voice. Make the world better by doing good.”