Anyone who participated in the National Student Leadership Conference is sure to agree that his or her time spent at the program was one of the highlights of his or her high school experience. NSLC is held all over the U.S. and attracts students from all around the world. This pre-college experience gives high school students a great opportunity to interact with people from a variety of different cultures all while having fun and learning more about a career path they are interested in pursuing. From the late night socials to the teamwork inspired ropes course, almost all former students can agree that their time at the conference was life changing. Despite the differences between programs and sites, there are a few points all NSLC students can relate to!

1. Being both excited and nervous about being completely independent of their parents for the first time

Whether the students threatened to never speak to their parents again for forcing them to go or begged their parents to let them go, most of them feel both a surge of excitement about being on their own and a feeling of panic about being away from home.

2. Being a little overwhelmed on registration day

“Who are these strange people? Why are all of them wearing blue polos and khakis? Do they know that they look like Best Buy workers? They look so young… Wait… They’re supposed to be in charge of me for the next week? You’ve got to be kidding me. And I have a roommate?! This situation will not end well.”

3. Meeting their Team Advisor (TA) and group for the first time and not being sure what to think

At their first TA meeting, it’s not always clear to students just how important their TA group will be to them for the next week. TA groups function as a great way to make what seems like a frighteningly large cluster of people into a smaller group. Though they may start out as complete strangers, TA groups become little families in no time!

4. Getting a little weirded out by the seemingly ridiculous name game that they play during the first TA meeting

Some kids love it and some kids… well, let’s just say some kids are quite content with the idea that they have to be called Tarush the Toe or Grace the Gastrocnemius for the rest of the week. Each group does it differently so whether they’re a body part, a food item, or some other object for their stay, they’ll never forget their nickname or the names of their new family.

5. Not being sure who they want to be for the next week

It sounds crazy but sometimes all it takes is a little distance from home and being surrounded by entirely new people for students to be who they truly are! There have been countless times where the loudest, craziest, most outgoing kids have revealed that at home and in school they are the ones that rarely ever talk. NSLC provides kids with an amazing opportunity to be whoever they want without being judged and many of them take full advantage of this!

6. Either not being sure if they'll be able to eat the cafeteria food for the next week or absolutely loving it

Depending on the site, the cafeteria food could either feel like a step up from what’s at home or like a huge disappointment. An ice cream buffet? That sounds like a pretty big step up! Watery eggs and rice that tastes like plastic? That’s a bit of a disappointment… Either way, by the end of the week, even if they’re loving the dessert bar, the students are likely to miss their mom’s home cooked meals! (If a week is all it takes for them to get to this point, boy are they in for a treat during Freshman year.)

7. Having to dress nicely all the time because if they don't, they'll get dress-coded

If the students didn’t own a suit before NSLC, they do now! Though some people may feel like the conference is just a glorified summer camp, any former student is likely to disagree. Having to wear a blazer and heels or otherwise uncomfortable shoes, even in hot weather, doesn’t necessarily scream “summer camp.” NSLC is a pre-college experience, designed to be more serious so as to give high school kids a taste of the university and work world. Dressing professionally, no matter the weather, is a part of that!

8. Wearing their lanyards like it's their job

Or like the lanyards are their best friends. That’s what their TAs most likely told them anyways. Truth be told, the TAs don’t care if the lanyards don’t match their outfits or if the students whine and complain that they’re like dog collars. No matter what, the students have to wear them at all times, except when they’re sleeping or showering! It’s the best way to recognize them instantly and by the end of the session, they most likely won’t want to take them off anyways.

9. The same goes with carrying their binders

The TAs and office staff did not spend hours putting tiny stickers with the students’ names on them onto the binders for no reason. The binders are full of educational material that the students will be using throughout the week and they should be well aware that they’ll need it at all times. While it may start off as a hassle, by the end of the conference it’ll feel weird to not always be holding a binder!

10. Getting semi-nervous every time someone with a red lanyard approached.

Red lanyard? Cue the Jaws music! There’s a TA approaching! They really aren’t that scary but no matter what, if a TA approaches unannounced, it’s likely to cause just a little bit of fear in the students. As long as the students are doing what they’re told, they shouldn’t be worried. The TAs are most likely just hanging around to make sure that everyone’s having a great time. But if the students are out of bounds or not in a group of three, especially on a field trip, then they have a reason to be scared! (Have fun spending the rest of the field trip with the TAs!)

11. Never going anywhere without at least two other people

Will the students ever be able to stop hearing “three is the way to be!” ring in their ears when they’re by themselves or with only one person? Probably not. But will they be just a tad safer from now on because they have learned to travel in groups? Absolutely!

12. Always being on time

Of course, by “on time” we mean fifteen minutes early because… “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!” It seems extreme, but it’s a good habit to develop. The best sense of pride is being earlier than the TA.

13. Getting that "I never want to go home!" feeling only a few days into the conference.

With so little time to spend together, it doesn’t take long before lifelong bonds are formed! The group of people the students are surrounded by are the people they eat, talk, learn, and go on fieldtrips with. The students are together almost every second of every day… How could they not become best friends in the week that they have together? The new feeling of independence, the amazing people they are surrounded by, and the inspiration they feel at learning so much so quickly all contribute to making NSLC something they never want to walk away from.

14. Developing an inside joke with their TA group that nobody else understands

Whether it’s some weird name they call their TA, a name they call themselves, or something entirely unrelated, nearly every TA group has an inside joke. Whatever their TA group’s joke is, it’s essential to team bonding and it makes the students feel more like family. If all the other groups look at them weirdly when they mention their inside joke, the students likely won’t care because that’s what makes it even funnier.

15. Going on awesome field trips around the site's university

Having the opportunity to see all the cool places around the university is an awesome experience that helps the students to gain a better understanding of what they’ll want out of a college when the time comes to apply. The field trips can range from ones related to what they might want to do to trips purely about fun, but either way, they’re a great method in exploring the campus area! Even if the students had no idea what kind of college campus they were looking for before, after leaving NSLC they’ll surely have some sort of idea. The only downside of field trips? The boxed lunches...

16. Hitting up the popular hangout spot during the few moments they actually have free time

It’s true. NSLC students don’t get a lot of free time, but it’s only because there are so many cool experiences to fit in only one week! However, when they do have free time, it’s likely that they can be found at whatever the local hang out spot is. The hangout spot can be a variety of different things, all depending on how big the site’s boundaries are. Whether they’re at American University and they’re going to the Starbucks in the tunnel or they’re at UC Berkeley and they’re heading for Noah’s Bagels...they can always be found in that area during free time, most likely with a lot of the other students!

17. Getting super excited for the final social

The last hurrah of the conference is sure to be a good one. There isn’t necessarily any food, but what the students can be promised is loud music and lots of dancing! The final social is a great way for students to destress after a long week of working hard, and it’s a fun way to interact with any other programs that may be at the same site. As long as they make sure to stay at the social (unless they want an angry person in a bright red t-shirt to be hunting them down), they’re sure to have an amazing last night!

18. Being super proud to present their final project at the closing ceremony

After working super hard on it, whatever it may be, the students have every right to be proud of their work. For a lot of them, these projects were the first ones they completed that are related to the career they want. If that isn’t enough reason to be proud, then what is?

19. Feeling like they'll never meet people this amazing again and not wanting to leave them

NSLC certainly attracts the best and brightest people and it’s hard to think of ever having to leave them. While it’s important for them to appreciate the amazing people that they get to meet, it’s also critical for the students to understand that the amazing qualities they see at NSLC can be found in the people they know at home if they look hard enough.

20. Getting excited to apply to be a TA in a few years

Alas, the conference has come to an end and it’s time for everyone to go home. The students will most likely have a bittersweet feeling; happy that NSLC happened, but sad that it’s over. They start to wonder, when’s the next time they’ll get to experience this again? Then they realize that in two or more years, they can apply to be TAs! If they thought being a student was hard work, boy are they in for a surprise if they become a TA. But while it’s twice the amount of work, being a TA is twice the amount of fun and it’s the perfect way to stay involved and give back just a little of what NSLC gave to them.

Despite the discomfort of wearing a blazer when it’s blazing outside or having to go down to the office because they locked themselves out, all former NSLC students can most likely agree that attending NSLC was one of the best experiences of their lives. It gave them a taste of independence, college life, and maybe even what it’s like to connect with people from vastly different cultures. NSLC brings all sorts of people together to one big conference so that they can gain a better idea of what they want to do when they graduate. Though forming all of these memories may not have been the goal of NSLC, it certainly was the outcome for many and they probably wouldn’t trade those memories for the world.