Hi, I'm Jaylen L.

At TORCH, I set my goal: "By November, I will speak first in at least one meeting every week at my school's leadership club." I committed to it in front of my cohort, and my counselors helped me build a real plan for it.

Since camp I've run two icebreakers for my school's leadership club and started asking quieter kids what they think before I share my own idea.

Last week I led a room of 40 people through a game we invented at 11pm at TORCH. I learned that being a leader isn't about being the loudest — it's about noticing who hasn't spoken yet.

Someone paid for my seat before they ever knew my name. I want the next kid to get that same letter I got.