Parent Resources
What you need to know about AIYLC
Sending your student away for four days is a big decision. We've gathered the information you need to understand the AIYLC experience: from what students learn and where they stay to costs, expectations, and preparing for the conference.
Why AIYLC?
AIYLC gives students the opportunity to challenge themselves, build confidence, and develop practical leadership skills through experiences that extend beyond the classroom. Along the way, they build meaningful relationships with motivated peers and accomplished professionals while gaining experiences and skills that can strengthen college applications, scholarship opportunities, and future career readiness.
What We Teach
AIYLC combines classroom instruction with hands-on activities that give students opportunities to put what they learn into practice. The curriculum focuses on three areas that prepare students to become more capable leaders, engaged citizens, and informed decision-makers.
50% — Leadership
Students explore character, communication, behavior awareness, critical thinking, conflict management, and other fundamentals of effective leadership. Team-building challenges give them opportunities to apply these concepts while working with others to solve problems and accomplish shared goals.
30% — Civics & Patriotism
Students examine American government, the Constitution, citizenship, individual rights and responsibilities, and the principles on which the nation was founded. Visits to Jamestown and Yorktown connect those lessons to the people, events, and decisions that shaped American history.
20% — Free Enterprise
Students explore the principles of the free-enterprise system, financial decision-making, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Through practical activities, they learn how ideas are developed, evaluated, communicated, and turned into viable solutions.
What Your Student Will Gain
AIYLC gives students opportunities to challenge themselves, practice new skills, build relationships, and discover strengths they may not have recognized before.
Confidence & Self-Awareness
Students learn more about how they communicate, make decisions, respond to challenges, and work with others—while becoming more comfortable speaking up and taking initiative.
Practical Leadership Skills
Through team challenges and hands-on activities, students practice communication, critical thinking, decision-making, conflict management, teamwork, and problem-solving skills they can use well beyond the conference.
College & Career Readiness
Students leave with meaningful experiences they can draw upon in college and scholarship applications, résumés, and interviews, along with skills that will serve them in college, the workplace, and their communities.
New Relationships & Perspectives
Students connect with motivated peers and interact with experienced military and civilian leaders, educators, professionals, entrepreneurs, and guest speakers—exposing them to new perspectives, career possibilities, and potential mentoring relationships.
What Does the Experience Look Like?
AIYLC is an immersive four-day experience that combines classroom learning with team challenges, historic site visits, guest speakers, practical exercises, and time to build friendships. Each day builds on the last, giving students opportunities to learn new concepts and then put them into practice.
Day 1 — Connect & Discover
Students arrive, meet their teammates, and begin exploring what leadership looks like in practice. The first day introduces leadership, behavior awareness, financial decision-making, and free enterprise before students put their new skills to work in their first team-building challenges.
Day 2 — Learn & Explore
The classroom expands beyond the conference center as students explore American history firsthand at Jamestown. Back on campus, they continue developing communication and leadership skills, examine the Constitution, work through team challenges, and begin developing their ideas for the Shark Tank competition.
Day 3 — Challenge & Apply
The most active day brings together leadership, civics, history, and free enterprise. Students visit historic and military sites, learn from experienced guest speakers, explore character, government, and conflict management, tackle additional team challenges, and put their entrepreneurial skills to the test by presenting their Shark Tank projects.
Day 4 — Reflect & Celebrate
Students finish the conference by exploring critical thinking and reflecting on what they have learned about leadership and themselves. The experience concludes with a graduation ceremony where students, staff, and families celebrate four days of growth, teamwork, and accomplishment.
See a typical conference schedule.
Your Student While They’re With Us
Adult Supervision
AIYLC strives to maintain approximately one adult staff member or chaperone for every five students. Conference staff include AIYLC and MOWW personnel, designated chaperones, and military or community volunteers, with returning senior students assisting staff as Senior Mentors. Chaperones not holding an active security clearance are vetted through the Virginia State Police.
Health and Safety
Students may not bring weapons, recreational drugs, or other prohibited or dangerous items to the conference. and enforces friendly interactions between all students. Most activity is fairly light. However, in the event of an injury, AIYLC staff will administer basic first aid. They carry a comprehensive first aid kit and student medical forms on every excursion in the event a student needs medical care beyond basic first aid. Staff ensures there is plenty of water available throughout the conference.
Student Conduct Expectations
AIYLC students are expected to conduct themselves with maturity, respect, and personal responsibility throughout the conference. Participants must follow staff direction, attend and participate in scheduled activities, respect others, follow lodging, dress, curfew, and electronic-device rules, and maintain a safe environment free from bullying, harassment, prohibited substances, weapons, and inappropriate behavior. Serious or repeated violations may result in dismissal from the conference at the participant's expense.
Lodging
Students will stay in gender separated cabins provided by the Jamestown 4-H Educational Center. Cabins include beds with mattresses, showers, sinks, and toilets. Students will need to bring personal sheets, blankets, pillows, towels, and toiletries. Many students opt for a sleeping bag to meet the bedding requirements.
Quiet time is enforced after 10:30pm.
Dining
The Jamestown 4-H staff provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner throughout the conference, except when AIYLC staff provides pizza and ice cream on the last night. AIYLC staff works directly with 4-H staff to ensure any dietary restrictions are accounted for and the menu selection is diverse.
Please ensure AIYLC staff is aware of any dietary restrictions your student may have.
Down Time
AIYLC staff are aware of the needs of young learners, including the need to step away from the classroom and burn some energy. We have included a judicious amount of down time into our schedule to break up the intense learning environment while still achieving our educational goals. Students can engage in physical activity or enjoy some quiet time.
What Does AIYLC Cost?
$100
While the total cost per student to attend AIYLC is $350, we ask students and their families to contribute just $100 toward the total cost. AIYLC and regional MOWW chapters work diligently to find sponsors, raise funds, and accept donations to cover the difference.
What’s Included with Tuition?
Four day access to the 4-H training facility, including recreation
Three nights of lodging and bathing facility access
Nine meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
Commercial transportation to historic sites
Admission to two historic sites and museums
Conference materials
Awards and recognition
Guest speaker fees
Joining AIYLC
Step 1 - Apply
The student and parent fill out a short form requesting to attend AIYLC. Applications help AIYLC confirm student eligibility and build a balanced conference roster representing different schools, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.
Step 2 - Acceptance
Once we have finalized our roster, we will notify both the student and their parent or their guardian of acceptance. Included in the acceptance email will be the registration forms. These include electronic medical and emergency contact forms, as well as parental releases. AIYLC will also send the parent an invoice via email for the student tuition.
Step 3 - Registration
The student submits the registration forms electronically with applicable signature. The parent submits the payment through our invoicing system. Payment is accepted from a variety of methods, including credit card and Apple Pay.
Step 4 - Prepare
Please let AIYLC staff know if the student plans on taking commercial transportation to the conference and we will arrange for a pickup from whatever transportation center when they arrive.
What to Bring
Bedding/sleeping bag
Towels and toiletries
Weather-appropriate clothing
Comfortable walking shoes
Refillable water bottle
Rain gear
Sunscreen/bug spray
Small amount of spending money, if desired
Students should bring comfortable, appropriate clothing suitable for classroom activities, outdoor activities, and walking tours.
Step 5 - Arrival
Check-in time at the conference is from 1:00pm to 2:00pm on Day 1. Please plan on attending as close to these times as possible. Please make sure the student has had lunch prior to arrival as dinner will be the next meal provided. Once the student has checked-in, they will be assigned a team, be given their name tag, and a picture of them will be taken so that we can all can learn their names. The orientation briefing will begin promptly at 2:00pm.
Staying Connected with your Student
We understand that parents want to stay connected with their students during the conference. Parents should know that we dicourage cell phone use during physical lessons and activities. However, students are given breaks throughout the day and in the evening to be able to contact their parents.
Parents may contact the AIYLC Director at any time during the conference. Contact information is provided with acceptance materials.
Ready to Start Their Journey?
Give your student the opportunity to challenge themselves, discover how they lead, and experience AIYLC firsthand.