America’s Future Summit: Day 2

As morning broke on the second day of America’s Future Summit, a sense of anticipation filled the room at Willmar Conference Center. Students were eager to refine and present their pitches. To start off the day, students again broke out into workshop rooms aligned with their climate, education, or media track. 

In the climate room, led by Jill Carey, Vice President of Programs at Civic Bridgers, students were challenged to have a conversation with someone who they disagreed with. Students explored perspective-taking as a way to better understand a complicated world where multiple solutions exist. In the climate and energy sectors, it is more important than ever to show understanding of others in order to find shared solutions. 

Brianne Leibham of the YMCA Center for Youth Voice guided students in the education room, offering practical tools to address community challenges. By focusing on collective effort and shared responsibility, engagement at the local level can drive meaningful change. Using democratic principles in community spaces can help create environments where people feel invested in shared solutions. 

In the media room, Ellen Wolter of the University of Minnesota Extension facilitated a workshop called “The Power of Difference”. Students explored methods to balance multiple perspectives and competing priorities. This exercise in humility prepared teams to work together in spite of personal conflicts. 

After these breakout sessions, students fully immersed themselves in the work of putting the last touches on their pitches. They applied new insights in bridge-building and conflict resolution in order to foresee and solve potential flaws in their plan. Teams worked to not just present an idea, but a compelling solution for real change. Students raced to submit their presentations by the 12:30pm deadline. 

Even after the 12:30 deadline passed, the pressure on students was not over. They still had a pitch to complete. During a pause for lunch, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon delivered an inspiring speech that emphasized the importance of youth civic participation. Secretary Simon encouraged all of the students in the room to register to vote and participate in public life. Youth voices can carry weight in civic spaces, but it is up to them to stay engaged and pay attention to the democratic process. 

Finally, it was time for the main event of America’s Future Summit: the pitches. Students took to the stage one team at a time to present their solution to a local issue to a panel of judges. The format was simple: 4 minutes with no technology allowed. Some teams only sent one representative to perform the entire pitch. Others took turns presenting the part of the pitch that was specific to their particular c-suite role. Students showed off their creativity and imagination in any way that they could, hoping to catch the favor of the judges. 

When the last team had pitched and scores were being tabulated, Pablo Obegron of the City of Willmar Community Growth offered a closing message that detailed his journey of finding belonging in his community. Reflecting on his experience as an immigrant, Pablo emphasized the importance of resilience. His words reminded the room that leadership is not only about words and ideas, but about people and relationships. 

In a nation that continues to navigate complex challenges, moments like these offer a steady sense of hope. Read on to the next blog post to hear about the winners of America’s Future Summit.