Youth Leadership Conference 2026

WHAT:

The 2026 Annual Youth Leadership Conferences (YLCs) of Region VIII, Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW) and affiliated organizations will be held in-person this summer.

The purpose of the program is to teach high school students the fundamentals of Leadership, Americanism, Patriotism, the American Free Enterprise and Judicial systems; the fundamentals of citizenship. The conferences provide excellent speakers, workshops, networking with their peers from across the state, and are a memorable experience for the high school students.

Approximately 250 students are selected annually to attend these conferences, with awards presented to the Outstanding Student at each conference. The expectation is that the students will return to their high schools with a better understanding of what a leader truly is, how they lead effectively, and impart that knowledge to their peers.

WHO:

Participants are high school leaders from the states of Texas and Oklahoma who are entering their Junior or Senior years in the Fall of 2025. They are selected by sponsoring Chapters of the Military Order of the World Wars or by other affiliated sponsoring organizations.

HOW:

Students are sponsored at no cost to them. The sponsorship includes all meals, lodging and program costs. Parents provide their student’s transportation to and from the conferences.

While at the conferences, the students are always under adult supervision. The students are assigned to teams and led by previous graduates of the YLCs who serve as counselors and facilitators for the workshops. The students are housed in university dormitories with men and women separated. They eat in university dining facilities and meet in university auditoriums and classrooms. Some of the conferences have field trips to local attractions such as the President George H.W. Bush Presidential Library, the National Museum of the Pacific War, and the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

WHEN & WHERE:

• Oklahoma Christian University (OCUYLC), Edmond, Oklahoma 15 – 18 June 2026
• Schreiner University (SUYLC), Kerrville, Texas 14 – 18 June 2026
• Texas A&M University (TAMUYLC), College Station, Texas 22 – 26 June 2026
• Texas Wesleyan University (TWUYLC), Fort Worth, Texas 12 – 16 July 2026

Testimonial

“Good afternoon Mr. Smits. I’m Ciaira Bales. I attended the MOWW Youth Leadership Conference last summer and I really wanted to reach out and express how much that experience meant to me, how large of an impact that made on me and how strongly I wish to help provide that experience for someone else. I become the Corps Commander of my JROTC unit this past semester after implementing the things that I had learned at the conference and so grateful I got to experience it.”

Sample Youth Leadership Conference Schedule

Day 1 Theme: Orientation and YLC Focus

• 12:00 PM In-processing Student Arrivals and Room Key Issue
• 2:00 Orientation Introductions, Conference rules and Policies
• 3:00 Workshop #1 Team Tasks & Preparations for “Talent Night”
• 7:00 Workshop #2 Team discussions: “Leaders I Admire” & Citizenship Challenge
• 8:00 Workshop #3 Team discussions: “Defining Leadership & US Presidents Quiz”
• 10:30 Quiet Time All students in quarters. Lights out by 11:00 p.m.

Day 2 Theme: Leadership and the Bill of Rights

• 6:30 AM Roll Call Exercises and games
• 8:30 Workshop #4.1 Team discussions “Identifying the Top National Issues”
• 9:30 Workshop #4.2 Team presentations “Prioritizing the Top National Issues”
• 10:30 Workshop #5.1 Preparations for the Trial, “Carla Jensen vs. White Star Lines” 1:00 PM Workshop #5.2 “The Titanic Trial”
• 2:00 Speaker #1 “The Law and You”
• 3:00 Field Trip #1 Local Landmark, Leadership Attraction
• 5:00 Speaker #2 “Leadership by Example”
• 7:00 Movie Demonstrated Principles of Leadership
• 9:00 Workshop #6 Preparations for “Talent Night”
• 10:30 Quiet Time All students in quarters. Lights out by 11:00 PM

Day 3 Theme: Leadership and Free Enterprise

• 6:30 AM Roll Call Exercises and games
• 8:30 Speaker #3 “American Exceptionalism”
• 9:30 Workshop #7 Team discussions, “Federal Control vs. Free Enterprise”
• 11:00 Speaker #4 “You are Tomorrow’s Leaders”
• 1:00 Speaker #5 “Free Enterprise and Capitalism”
• 2:00 Speaker #6 “Freedom isn’t Free”
• 3:00 Workshop #8 Court cases, “Supreme Court decisions: The 10 Amendments”
• 6:30 Workshop #9 Talent Night, “America’s Got Talent”
• 10:30 Quiet Time All students in quarters. Lights out by 11:00 PM

Day 4 Theme: Leadership and You

• 6:30 AM Roll Call Exercises and games
• 8:30 Workshop #10 Letters to Sponsoring organizations and Student elections
• 10:30 Speaker #7 “Texas Leads the Way”
• 6:00 Banquet Reception, followed by Supper
• 7:00 Speaker #8 Banquet Speaker
• 10:30 Quiet Time All students in quarters – with lights out by 11:00 PM

Day 5 Theme: Actions Speak Louder than Words

• 6:30 AM Rise and shine All students pack for departure.
• 8:30 Speaker #9 “Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way”
• 10:00 Out-processing Final packing, dorm cleaning, key turn-in, and departure