Co-created by students. Powered by community wisdom.
This fall at Gonzaga University’s Cataldo Hall, something rare happened: a room full of students, educators, parents, and community members gathered—not to teach students, but to learn from them.
The Youth Advocacy Summit, co-designed by a team of student leaders across Spokane along with partners at LEV and AWSL, brought together hundreds of people to explore one central truth: students are the experts at being students, and their leadership is essential to shaping the education system they move through every day.
Across nine student-designed breakout sessions, intergenerational panels, and community conversations, young people led with clarity, courage, and conviction. The Summit—and the video we’re proud to share alongside this post—captures a powerful shift happening across Washington: when adults step back and make space, students step forward.
“Your voice matters—even if it’s just one.”
As master of ceremonies and panelist, junior Ona from Ridgeline High School, opened the Summit with a message that carried through the day:
“One voice matters…even if it is just one. When you say something, people have to think about it.”
For her, being part of a student-led effort wasn’t just an opportunity—it was a learning experience in collaboration, communication, and stepping into leadership roles she once found intimidating.
She shared how empowering it felt to build her own panel on the Power of Voice, and how community connectedness—not individualism—is the real foundation of advocacy: “Building community strengthens your bonds. You have stability. You have someone to rely on.”
Designing a Summit, Designing a Future
The Summit didn’t appear out of thin air. A dedicated student co-design team spent weeks shaping every detail—from the themes of breakout sessions to the food that would make the space feel welcoming.
Senior Emmaline described the process as energizing: “The meetings were just as empowering as the event. Listening to what matters most to other students—it helped me understand why they are who they are.”
Students designed breakout sessions on topics they see and live every day:
- Mental health supports for multilingual newcomer students
- Staying safe while advocating online
- Racial healing and belonging
- Public speaking for change
- Building strong peer-led community networks
Chika, who helped lead sessions on safe online advocacy and racial healing, said she joined the Summit because: “There is so much happening in the world that affects my community. If I can help youth advocate, that could truly make change.”
“Everyone’s different, and everyone matters.”
For Paikea, who shared her experiences as an Indigenous student, the Summit was a space of representation—and healing.
“It’s been hard to connect with people who’ve experienced what I have. But advocating for Indigenous students, for generational trauma, for language—these things matter.”
Despite experiencing social anxiety as a child, she has grown into a powerful public speaker through advocacy and debate.
“Talking about what I believe in makes me comfortable. Everyone should know these things and be aware.”
Adult Allies Learning to Listen
Across the room, educators and leaders reflected on the way students model courage and clarity.
James Layman, Director of the Association of Washington Student Leaders, captured it perfectly: “Students are the experts at being students… They’re brilliant. They’re smart. Why would we not listen?”
And Gabriella Whitemarsh, Washington’s 2026 Teacher of the Year, emphasized the urgency of listening now: “Youth aren’t just our future—they’re our present. What they say now matters. Decisions being made impact their lives today.”
These reflections reinforce CSW’s conviction that when schools and communities listen to and learn from students—especially students furthest from opportunity—we build pathways toward stronger, more equitable systems.
“Youth aren’t just our future—they’re our present. What they say now matters. Decisions being made impact their lives today.” Gabriela Whitemarsh.
Community Wisdom, Shared Leadership, Real Change
At the heart of the Summit was a simple, powerful principle: Nothing for students, without students.
This wasn’t an event where adults “gave” students a platform—it was one where students built the platform and adults showed up to learn.
It was community wisdom in action:
- Students identifying real issues
- Adults supporting without steering
- Multilingual, multiracial youth shaping the narrative of their own educational experience
- A community strengthened by intergenerational dialogue
The result is a blueprint for what education advocacy can look like when we trust students as partners.
What Students Want Adults to Carry Forward
Throughout the day, students shared consistent themes that mirror CSW’s focus on partnership and equity:
- Students’ lived expertise should guide decision-making.
- Schools thrive when young people feel belonging, agency, and connection.
- Advocacy is most powerful when rooted in community.
- Adults play a crucial role in creating space, sharing power, and acting on what they hear.
- Youth are already leading—systems must evolve to meet their leadership.
As one student summed it up:
“We can make a difference. We already are.”
Looking Ahead
The Youth Advocacy Summit is a strong example of what happens when we co-create with community, invest in student leadership, and trust students to define the issues that matter most to them. It also offers a roadmap for how schools, districts, and state partners can build more inclusive, responsive, and equitable learning environments.
College Spark Washington is proud to uplift these stories and to continue investing in partnerships that center student voice as a driver of systems change.
