23 WHS Students selected for the National Council on Youth Leadership

Twenty-three Waukee High School students were selected to attend the National Council of Youth Leadership’s (NCYL) 27th annual Youth Salute. In total, 235 high school seniors from 23 area high schools were selected by their schools to attend the event on September 9, 2019, at Drake University.

Participants heard from speakers on student leadership in high school and beyond. JJ Kapur delivered a keynote address titled “Stand Out and Speak Up.” JJ is currently a sophomore at Stanford University. He attended the 2017 NCYL conference. JJ’s work advocating for Sikh civil rights has earned him the Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award, ACLU Youth Advocacy Award, and West Des Moines Emerging Citizen of 2018.

NCYL is dedicated to recognizing, encouraging and developing the leadership skills of youth. The mission of NCYL is to create public awareness of the importance and power of youth leadership, provide information to help build advanced leadership skills, and encourage community involvement in recognition and support our youth. The Greater Des Moines chapter is facilitated by the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University, which offers a variety of public awareness activities and programming, including CHARACTER COUNTS!, a widely used character education program.

Four participants were selected as Youth Leaders of the Year and will attend the national NCYL conference, Town Meeting on Tomorrow, in St. Louis in October. Those students were Benton Renaud from Ankeny Centennial High School, Angel Nyaga from Johnston High School, Mary Ann Schwindt from Roosevelt High School and Omar
Mustafa from Valley High School.

Waukee High School NCYL

Isabella Avilez

Architha Bommena

Katie Carlson

Nina Carnevale

Emily Clouser

Grace Clouser

Kate Dressel

Aubrey Duenas

William Keck

Carley Larsen

Katie Liskey

Rei McCormick

Zach Nigg

Arshi Sajid

Olivia Sanders

Elena Sierra

Amy Trinh

Hannah Tucker

Sri naga Swetha Tunuguntla

Mckenzie Turner

Kylee Vaudt

Kaitlyn White

Mady Yu