The week of September 22 to 26 was full of adventure in Washington D.C. to partake in the National Youth Leadership Forum for National Security (NYLFNS) at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel.
NYLFNS provides high school students with an experience that will aid their goal in going for
careers in defense, intelligence and the diplomatic fields. These students are nominated by their
teachers anonymously in their respective high schools. Although it was a pricey trip to partake, it was a worthwhile experience.
After the opening ceremony, we debriefed into National Security Action Meeting (NSAM) rooms with assigned groups. With a total of 410 peers, we were divided into groups named after important leaders such as Washington, Bunche and Lejeune. I was placed in Hall group with fifteen other students.
During the first day of the program, we were briefed about our simulation: “Crisis or Crossroads: The Drug Superhighway of Latin America”. The setting of this simulation took place in 2016 against Mexican drug cartels, who call themselves “Los Mortales”, that grew exponentially over the past years.
After watching a film about the economical and social benefits of selling and purchasing cocaine in North and South America, we chose to take on a role in either the Diplomatic, Intelligence or Defense Department. I took on the responsibility as Chairman of Joint Chief of Staff for the Department of Defense.
There were many activities I did with my Hall group such as visiting memorials like
World War II, Vietnam, Lincoln and Jefferson. Seminars were presented throughout the week to expand our career choices in the government field. We also did some work within our NSAM rooms like studying important aspects of our upcoming simulation and different departments of the government such as Intelligence, Diplomacy and Defense.
After all of the activities and seminars, our simulation began on Friday. At the heat of the simulation, I took most of the responsibility on what actions to take. Surprisingly my tactics with using a blockade failed because one of our members in the executive department was bribed to leak information about our plans of attack.
Towards the end of the simulation on Saturday morning, we received our last intelligence. We made another plan, since the first one failed, on crippling South America’s economy and succeeded.
Along the way, we bonded greatly with uncanny adventures and inside jokes. I have made wonderful friends across the United States who have expanded my views on other states such as Connecticut, Delaware and New York. Sadly, the peak of our fun was at the end of the forum and I was quite disappointed.
Throughout the seminars, I felt moved towards a few of the interviewees’ in what they
had gone through. Sal Gonzales, who was in a couple tours in Iraq had gone through deep depression after losing his left leg. Yet, he found ways to be optimistic through rough times such as getting shoes half-off and making connections to those who experienced what he had gone through. Another was Timothy Holman who takes part in the Peace Corp. in Uganda for a couple of years and had to live amongst the people. As I saw his slides, I couldn’t imagine myself living in those conditions. At the end of these seminars, it taught me to be more optimistic and thankful for what I have especially connect with those around me.
In the end, I learned how important and difficult it was to be in the government’s shoes through the stressful, yet fun, simulation. In addition, I strengthened my leadership skills and learned how to be aware of the challenges working in the government field. As of right now, I’m planning to take on the job as one of our nation’s National Guard.