Experience From the Voice of the Elected Youth Governor 

Pictured Left to right: Kenneth Yount - Oregon Elected Youth Governor, Nolan Martin - Executive Director of Washington YMCA Youth & Government, Campbell Phillips – Washington Elected Youth Governor

I wasn't sure how to write my Youth Govenor's Conference story. I could have talked about the amazing places we visited. The National Mall, which we were fortunate enough to visit at night. Georgetown University, a college that I was determined to apply to until I figured out that they require SAT scores. The White House, which compared to other mansions I've had the privilege of visiting, was rather quaint. Capitol Hill and the Senate, where we had the privilege of eating a meal in the same room as the Watergate and Vietnam hearings. I could have talked about our amazing guest speakers, including a former employee of Kamala Harris and a current International Court of Justice prosecutor working to heal the wounds of the 1990s conflict in Yugoslavia. A congresswoman from Michigan, with whom I have profound political disagreements but share so much common ground. The US ambassador to Kosovo, in addition to being an amazing person, doing amazing work, grew up in my hometown of Bellingham, Washington. And, of course, the amazing Y of USA team members, CEO Suzanne McCormick and Chief Government Affairs Officer Jeff Britt, who are both amazing people doing amazing work to solve some of our country's most pressing problems. 

But none of these things made this conference special and they're not why I will look back on this conference for the rest of my life as a turning point in my story. I don't believe leadership is a skill that can be solely taught; an element of experience is required. There is no one way to lead; everyone has different styles. We did an activity related to this, the classic owl, lion, peacock, and koala leadership styles test. Through this activity, we proved the above point that there is no universal formula for leadership, but instead different strategies suited to various other circumstances. That's roughly where the education on this subject end, as there is no blueprint for leadership. Leadership is not a skill, but a mindset with many different forms, each optimal for a certain situation. This playability of mindset is not necessarily required for leadership, but when present, makes a leader who can adapt to changing circumstances a clear advantage. We all have our circumstances in life. A lot of our leadership mindset can be derived from our environment, which implies that one requires a great diversity of experience to become an effective leader. This is not necessarily something that everyone has the time, resources, or impetus to develop. Some live in a small town in Eastern Pennsylvania like Robert Grega, the Youth Governor of Pennsylvania, or work in the office of a state senator like Kristian Wydysh, the Governor from Florida. This is the point of the Youth Governor's Conference, which is to bring the kings and queens of the castles together so that each can learn how to better their kingdoms and themselves. Going into the conference, I thought the point was to humble us. While I was most certainly humbled, with that humility came an opportunity for personal growth and a chance to make my conference better. 

Written by Campbell Phillips, 78th Youth Governor, Whatcom Delegation