NLC-Z – A Deeply Rooted Community

by Sarah Browning

The largest Pando aspen grove in the world spreads across 100 acres of Fishlake National Forest. Each tree is a unique organism, yet it is rare to find a single Pando aspen in isolation, as they need the support and safety of an extensive communal root system to stay alive and thriving.

Like the Pando grove, the National Leadership Conference family stood firm in community this year, adapting to the realities of the coronavirus pandemic when it meant they could not gather in person at Miniwanca. Third-year NLC participant Genevieve Skittone was heartbroken upon hearing the news. “I cried,” she said. “Camp is the one time of year where I am genuinely the happiest. In the moment I got the news, I was really struggling. Camp is what pushes me through the year.”

For more than 30 years, NLC has empowered high school and college-aged youth to be confident leaders in their communities and discover and grow into their best selves. Traditionally, NLC participants, mentors, and staff gather for eight days each summer, engaging in community building and leadership training.

Chelsea Bernthal, Director of School and Community Programs at Miniwanca, said the AYF immediately began looking for new ways to connect with NLC participants. “By early spring, we were brainstorming with our Merrowvista team and asking ourselves what will bring joy to the NLC youth in this current climate?”

NLC participants in 2019

NLC staff decided to launch NLC-Z (National Leadership Conference on Zoom) from June 15 to 18, part of a slew of free virtual programming options the AYF offered this summer. More than 100 National Leadership Conference participants joined together online to celebrate their community and center their collective voices to stand for social justice and work toward anti-racism.

The online conference mirrored many traditions and practices of NLC in a virtual format. Participants started their days with a Call to Community, then spent time with their respective classes in leadership development, Interest Groups, and Affiliation Groups. They ended their days with Night’s Doings or Evening Reflection.

Skittone attended all the Calls to Community and Evening Reflections, as well as the LGBTQ Affiliation Group. “Obviously, it wasn’t the same experience at all, but to me, that didn’t matter,” she said. “It was still a reflective experience, and I was with the people that comforted me the most. I was so happy. I felt a sense of relief and comfort by the end of the week.”

Bernthal said the NLC community felt called to amplify their positive voices for change while learning to navigate the social unrest in the midst of a global pandemic.

“NLC-Z started as Black Lives Matter protests were happening nationwide,” she said. “We created open discussion time for the youth to dive deep into the topic of the day and work through the hard questions of how do we focus on being anti-racist?”

At the end of the week, each class shared a short video presentation that highlighted lessons learned and their future plans as individuals and a conference class. This year Skittone said she truly recognized not only the value of gathering at Miniwanca, but also the value of the community she gathers with. “It’s very different than everywhere else. You can’t get the same feeling in your day-to-day life,” she said. “It genuinely is because of the community. Being able to communicate with those people any way that I can is very important because it reminds me of that place. It helps me get back to that place mentally.”

Motivated by a desire to help the NLC participants navigate this difficult year, a dedicated anonymous donor stepped up to offer care packages for all registered NLC participants.

The AYF staff teamed up to put together and mail more than 200 care packages that included journals with writing prompts, stickers, NLC class pictures, and more. “It was an amazing collaboration, everyone pulling together, to create personalized care packages with gifts specific to their class and previous NLC experiences,” said Advancement Manager Annie Oliviero. Molly Mulcahy, Director of Alumni and Community Relations, said the participants were thrilled. “We received an incredible outpouring of positive responses when the participants received their surprise care packages,” she said.

NLC-Z encouraged youth leaders to grow stronger among the vast grove of mentors, staff, and alumni. The deeply rooted NLC community pulled together during this season of challenge, tending to each beautifully individual tree, resulting in the flourishing of their whole grove.

NLC participants on Miniwanca sand dunes in 2019.