Seeking: Students With a Passion for American History for the 2024-2025 Youth Leadership Team

(Washington, D.C.) – Young history enthusiasts eager to advance the cause of battlefield preservation are invited to apply to the American Battlefield Trust’s Youth Leadership Team for the 2024-2025 school year. This competitively selected group of high schoolers, aged 15-18, serves as the youth face and voice of the organization, inspiring a love for America’s historic treasures through efforts spanning history education, preservation and visitation. An outstanding leadership opportunity with a historical twist, the program is accepting applications until June 30, 2024.    

“These students are our future,” said Trust President David Duncan. “It is through a combination of can-do attitudes, passion for the past, and Trust-provided training and resources that they are empowered to impart a love of history and preservation among their peers and local communities. We also learn from these young leaders, as they connect us with new perspectives on history education.”  

Over the course of the academic year, the program will position members to pursue adventure, creativity, an expanded network and a greater understanding of both the American past and present-day efforts to preserve it. Benefits include all-expenses paid travel to Washington, D.C., for a lobbying experience on Capitol Hill, as well as an off-site trip to the Trust’s Annual Conference — the perfect opportunity to network with our nation’s leaders in historic preservation. All members will complete capstone projects that encourage their communities to consider history’s ongoing relevance, as well as develop content for the Trust’s website and social media channels. Setting members up for future success, all will receive training in leadership, program management, media relations and fundraising.    

Each Youth Leadership Team cohort has effectively demonstrated the program's effectiveness, as members tackle capstone projects covering a range of historical topics through a myriad of methods. Colin Shen, of the 2022-2023 cohort, created a unique work of art depicting a modern seamstress stitching a star upon the U.S. flag to honor Betsy Ross. Ella Dieterlen, also of the 2022-2023 cohort, looked at historic crochet patterns and put them into modern terms for reenactors to reproduce. Currently, from the 2023-2024 cohort, Daniel Gleason, from West Suffield, Conn., produced a news piece that aired on his local FOX News channel and gave insight on Civil War soldier Sgt. Seth Plumb and the New England Civil War Museum’s work in acquiring his uniform.  

These determined students represent the foundation for the enduring protection of America’s historic sites, with their skills and passion bolstered by the ideas and experiences gained from their participation in the American Battlefield Trust’s Youth Leadership Team. Recognizing the profound effect the program has on these young leaders and the future of historic preservation, the Pipkin Charitable Foundation is a generous supporter of the program.  

If you know a student interested in participating, please encourage them to apply. For more details and information, please visit www.battlefields.org/YLT.  

The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 58,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War across 155 sites in 25 states. Learn more at www.battlefields.org. 

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