On June 11, MAP COO Layla Zaidane moderated a panel at the National Campus Leadership Council’s annual Presidential Leadership Summit. The panel, presented to roughly 200 student body presidents from around the country, was focused on the wave of activism young people have led, and their impact within the current unique political environment. It also sought to detail the ways in which student voices have, and will, impact the 2018 elections.

Matt Deitsch, Parkland student and chief strategist of March For Our Lives, shared his perspective on the importance of youth organizing, and the power of the youth vote at the ballot box. March For Our Lives, created in the wake of the Parkland High School tragedy, is aiming to register as many young voters as possible ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

Fellow panelist Daysi Bedolla, student body president at Eastern Oregon University and DACA recipient, spoke to the power of storytelling in issue-based work, and shared her own personal journey into holding elected office as she moved from advocate to student body president.

Alexi McCammond, Political reporter at Axios, and Melissa Richmond, vice president at Running Start, , rounded out the panel—sharing thoughts on both the media’s role in amplifying young candidates, and the need to support young candidates who are traditionally underrepresented in elected office.