Want proof that high school leadership doesn’t have to be performative or reserved for a select few? We sit down with the team at UGA’s JW Fanning Institute for Leadership Development to unpack a model that helps teens lead right now—no jargon, no fluff, just practical skills and real opportunities. From the pressures students feel about college and careers to the confidence they gain through strengths-based coaching, we trace how a research-backed framework turns anxiety into agency.

We walk through Youth Lead Georgia, a competitive, zero-cost statewide cohort fueled by philanthropic support, complete with four immersive retreats and a summer bus tour. You’ll hear how the companion summer summit widens access, inviting at least one student from every Georgia county to explore leadership, college pathways, technical education, the military, and the workforce—without prescribing a single “right” future. Then we dive into the school-based Youth Leadership in Action curriculum, a flexible K–12 program that moves students through mastery of self, mastery of relationships, and mastery of action. Think community mapping, conflict skills, and team problem-solving that culminate in student-led projects with measurable impact.

Oconee County High School joins to share how they customized the modules, shifted to peer-led applications and interviews, and saw students ask for encore sessions to push their legacy work further. The thread through it all is facilitation that centers student voice: educators can bring Fanning in to lead, or get trained to run the program themselves. If you care about student belonging, behavior, and achievement—and you want a blueprint that works in both rural and metro districts—this conversation is your roadmap.

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