Fulton County + 21CL Present Youth Leadership Program

NEWS RELEASE

Fulton County’s CONNECTED: Youth Leadership Program (CYLP) in Partnership with 21st Century Leaders

Providing high school students with an experiential leadership and rewards program

August 1, 2023 (ATLANTA) – The Fulton County Department of Community Development is partnering with 21st Century Leaders, Georgia’s premier youth leadership and non-profit organization, to connect, transform and inspire high school students from diverse backgrounds in Fulton County to become the next generation of leaders. Registration for participation in the program is from August 21 to September 18. Applicants must submit completed applications by Monday, September 18, 2023, at 11:59 p.m.

Fulton County’s CONNECTED: Youth Leadership Program (CYLP) is an experiential program designed to provide students with a full year of robust experiences, enabling them to develop critical leadership knowledge, explore future career interests, and make informed decisions about the necessary educational and training pathways to achieve desired future career goals. Participants will also have access to live and online leadership training, special incentives, and connection with diverse peers and professionals throughout Fulton County.

Through this collaboration, YCS and 21st Century Leaders will follow an EPIC approach model: Engaging (fun and unique learning), Participatory (active and ongoing), Interactive (employer and training driven), and Connected (interest-driven/social developmental) utilizing 21st Century Leaders’ (21CL) proprietary online learning platform, Leadership Connect®, which is housed on Rali, an Atlanta based learning management system and one of 21CL’s partnering companies.

For consideration, students must meet the following criteria:

●      Must be enrolled in high school

●      Must be a Fulton County Resident

●      Access to a computer/tablet and Wi-Fi will be required to fully participate in this virtual leadership program

Leadership, recognition, and inclusivity describe just a few of the many qualities exemplified by CYLP. As such, there will be several opportunities throughout the year to provide incentives that encourage and reward participant engagement, including:

 ●      $25 Sign-on

●      $25 New Year Bonus

●      $100 Weekly Gift Card Drawing

●      $25 End-of-Year Bonus

●      Technology Prizes (Ear pods, Laptops, tablets)

●      Special Experiences

●      Live Workshops + Leadership Summits

●      Opportunity for paid summer internship (seniors only)

Completed applications may be submitted through the Fulton County website application link at www.fultoncountyga.gov/CYLP.

For more information, please contact Dionne Ferrell, Youth Coordinator, at dionne.ferrell@fultoncountyga.gov.

About 21st Century Leaders

21st Century Leaders® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that connects, transforms, and inspires high school students from diverse backgrounds across Georgia to leverage diversity, explore career opportunities, and become leaders in their school, community, and ultimately the workforce. Since its inception in 1989, 21st Century Leaders has served more than 16,000 diverse high school students from over 250 Georgia high schools through year-round leadership development, diversity and inclusion training, and career exploration programs. For more information about 21st Century Leaders, visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org.

For more Fulton County news, sign up for the weekly e-newsletter #OneFulton at https://goo.gl/Nb1L84. You can also visit Fulton County’s website at www.fultoncountyga.gov or connect with the Fulton County government on Twitter at @FultonInfo or Facebook at @fultoninfo.

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Department of External Affairs
MEDIA CONTACT: Marc Baucom
404-374-9925 (cell)
mark.baucom@fultoncountyga.gov
141 Pryor St. SW, Suite 3090
Atlanta, GA 30303
www.fultoncountyga.gov

https://www.facebook.com/FultonInfo

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Fulton County + 21CL Launch Youth Leadership Program

NEWS RELEASE

Fulton County’s CONNECTED: Youth Leadership Program (CYLP) in Partnership with 21st Century Leaders

CYLP provides Fulton County high school students with an experiential leadership and rewards program

ATLANTA – The Fulton County’s Department of Community Development’s Youth and Community Services Division (YCS) is partnering with 21st Century Leaders, Georgia’s premier youth leadership and non-profit organization, to connect, transform and inspire high school students from diverse backgrounds in Fulton County to become the next generation of leaders. Applicants may complete applications until Monday, September 27, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.

Fulton County’s CONNECTED: Youth Leadership Program (CYLP), is an experiential program designed to provide students with a full year of robust experiences, enabling them to develop critical leadership knowledge, explore future career interests, and make informed decisions about the necessary educational and training pathways to achieve desired future career goals. Participants will also have access to live and online leadership training, special incentives, and connection with diverse peers and professionals throughout Fulton County.

Through this collaboration, YCS and 21st Century Leaders will follow an EPIC approach model: Engaging (fun and unique learning), Participatory (active and ongoing), Interactive (employer and training driven), and Connected (interest driven/social developmental) utilizing 21st Century Leaders’ (21CL) proprietary online learning platform, Leadership Connect®, which is housed on Rali, an Atlanta based learning management system and one of 21CL’s partnering companies.

For consideration, students must meet the following criteria:

● Must be enrolled in high school
● Must be a Fulton County Resident
● Access to a computer/tablet and Wi-Fi will be required to fully participate in this virtual leadership program

Leadership, recognition, and inclusivity describe just a few of the many qualities exemplified by CYLP. As such, there will be several opportunities throughout the year to provide incentives that encourage and reward participant engagement to include:

● $25 Sign-on
● $25 New Year Bonus
● $100 Weekly Gift Card Drawing
● Technology Prizes (Ear pods, Laptops, tablets)
● Special Experiences
● Live Workshops + Leadership Summits

Completed applications may be submitted through the Fulton County website application link at www.fultoncountyga.gov/CYLP.

For more information, please contact Reginald Crossley, Youth Coordinator via e-mail at Reginald.Crossley@fultoncountyga.gov.

About 21st Century Leaders
21st Century Leaders® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that connects, transforms, and inspires high school students from diverse backgrounds across Georgia to leverage diversity, explore career opportunities, and become leaders in their school, community, and ultimately the workforce. Since inception in 1989, 21st Century Leaders has served more than 16,000 diverse high school students from over 250 Georgia high schools through year-round leadership development, diversity and inclusion training and career exploration programs. For more information about 21st Century Leaders, visit www.21stcenturyleaders.org.

For more Fulton County news, sign up for the weekly e-newsletter #OneFulton at https://goo.gl/Nb1L84. You can also visit Fulton County’s website at www.fultoncountyga.gov or connect with Fulton County government on Twitter at @FultonInfo or Facebook at @fultoninfo.

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Department of External Affairs
MEDIA CONTACT: Erica Miller
404-713-5995 (cell)
erica.miller@fultoncountyga.gov
141 Pryor St. SW, Suite 3090
Atlanta, GA 30303
www.fultoncountyga.gov

https://www.facebook.com/FultonInfo

Alumni Spotlight: Asher Jones

21CL Alumnus Asher Jones is our first Alumni Spotlight for the month of November! He is a graduate of Roswell High School (2013) and Georgia State University (2017). Asher works as Program Manager for Leadership Connect at 21st Century Leaders Inc., managing several programs including, Leadership Connect – the online learning platform, 21Clubs, our Youth Ambassadors, Summer Immersion Program, and collaborates with our other Program Manager on all other 21CL programmatic efforts! Asher is a football enthusiast turned into a great leader, he says that 21CL inspired him to look into other interesting careers and transformed him into a more collaborative leader and team-player. 

How did participating in 21CL transform you and lead you to where you are?

Participating in 21CL in high school greatly improved my understanding of careers outside the ones I was initially interested in. Before 21CL, all I really cared about was football and basing everything in my life around football. After I attended a 21CL program, I was able to understand the wide range of careers that also peaked my interest.

I came back to work as part of the staff for the Summer Leadership Team in 2017 and luckily found a full-time role with 21st Century Leaders soon thereafter. I joined 21st Century Leaders because as an alumnus of the program I know first hand what a great experience it is for high school students. The relationships and contacts I cultivated as a result of 21st Century Leaders have been very impactful. I am so excited to now be able to be an integral part of contributing to the development of those relationships on the other side!

How did 21CL prepare you for your next steps? Going into college and taking on leadership roles, heading into a new era of professionalism, etc. What skills/tools/perspectives have helped you along the way?

21CL helped prepare me for college and the next steps in my life simply by exposing them to me. I had never stayed in a dorm room, networked with a professional or really spent much time on a college campus before 21CL, so to be able to combine all those things in one week, through the summer leadership institutes, was truly transformative. Along with enhancing my public speaking skills as I am a naturally outgoing person, 21CL also helped me develop my critical thinking skills as well as my team building skills by putting me in situations that forced me to evaluate and analyze situations while also relying on others for assistance – which I wasn’t necessarily great at before.

Which programs did you participate in and what stood out to you? 

I attended Leadership Unplugged in 2011 and Leadership Plugged In 2012 (both are merged to our Youth Media Institute). While I can’t really recall a true “aha” moment, I do remember all the conversations and experiences I had with peers and professionals to this day and I value them greatly.

Did 21CL assist you in developing a leadership style that makes you an effective leader? If so, how? And have you recently learned something else about leadership? Please share!

21CL did help me enhance my leadership style by instilling in me the importance of team building and reliance on others. I was (and still am) am a pretty stubborn person who likes to do things his own way and always thought other people would hinder rather than help me in the end. 21CL showed me it’s quite the opposite and how to properly value the contributions of others in order to be a more effective leader. It is something I still grow in everyday but there has been definite improvement and I have 21CL to thank. If you need proof, ask Nicole (our other Program Manager)!