The 2026 ‘Be the Change’ Youth Training Program was a great success! We hosted 16 youth presenters across 7 different presentations covering topics such as reproductive health and youth autonomy, youth testimony and policy impact, confidence in building relationships with your providers, and more. Our youth participants, presenters, and Youth Advisory Council enjoyed a week full of learning, practicing leadership skills, and having fun together. It was inspiring to see both first-time attendees and returning participants engage in meaningful discussions, share innovative ideas, and build lasting connections.
What did participants have to say?
- “The conference has not only given us a reason to meet all together, like, with shared views, but also, like, it brings together our differences and kind of bridges that gap between different states and different organizations that ultimately are all working towards the same thing.”
- “This is my second year at the conference, and I think each year, I learn something new about someone else’s school-based health center service, or something else I can bring back to the community that I’m from.”
- “I think all of us really appreciate the fact that we got to have so much diversity and perspectives in this room, and I love that we are able to have this…event.”
These quotes collectively demonstrate the conference’s value in bringing together youth from different backgrounds and states, fostering peer learning and collaboration, and inspiring participants to apply what they learned in their own schools and communities.
Conference Highlights and Commitment to Youth Voice
We are proud to say the 2026 ‘Be the Change’ Youth Training Program and National School-Based Health Care Conference demonstrated a continued commitment to listening to youth ideas, perspectives, and voices. Two of our Youth Advisory Council members who serve on the School-Based Health Alliance Board, Rikhil Ranjit and Ketan Tamirisa, spoke during the closing keynote to highlight the important role students play in the school-based health field. This year, we were proud to introduce two new awards recognizing youth for outstanding leadership and collective efforts in the school-based health field, the Trailblazer and the Together We Lead Awards. Additionally, this year’s conference featured many workshops co-facilitated by youth leaders and highlighted topics related to youth development in school-based health care. These examples serve as a testament to the power of youth and their ability to shape the future of our field.
Youth Awards 2026
- The Trailblazer Award was presented to Anthony Hopson, from Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy, representing the Health Care Integrated Services Wellness Center. Anthony Hopson joined the Medical Assistant Program at Locke Academy, unsure if healthcare was the right path, but quickly became a leader who helped his classmates succeed. He built strong relationships, supported peers through challenging coursework and clinical skills, and encouraged students to stay in the program when they struggled. Working in the on-campus HCIS wellness center, Anthony not only took his clinical responsibilities seriously but also helped connect other students to the health services available to them. Recognized by multiple teachers for his compassion and initiative, Anthony has strengthened his cohort’s culture by fostering trust, encouraging persistence, and ensuring his peers feel supported and capable of succeeding.
- The Together We Lead Award was presented to the Minnesota School-Based Health Alliance Youth Council and the La Pine Youth Action Council.
- The Minnesota School-Based Health Alliance Youth Council is a student-led group that inspires high school students to shape school-based health through advocacy, collaboration, and peer-led initiatives. Since its launch in 2024, the Council has led statewide campaigns on sleep health and student burnout, helped improve the Minnesota Department of Health’s Adolescent and Young Adult Health Questionnaire, and advocated for policies that promote safe, inclusive school environments. By combining youth leadership, research, and systems-level advocacy, the Council has reached thousands of students while ensuring that young people’s voices directly inform health programs and policies across Minnesota.
- The La Pine Youth Action Council inspires students to improve health and well-being by promoting the school-based health center and leading projects that support their peers. Over the past year, members expanded participation in the club, created a more welcoming health center through student-led improvements, assembled winter resource bags for students and families in need, launched a schoolwide “Joyful Project” that engaged more than half the student body following a community loss, and developed educational health and wellness campaigns. Their efforts have increased awareness of the school-based health center, strengthened connections among students, and fostered a more supportive, youth-centered school community.
Check out some pictures from the conference:
