Youth Leadership Team 2025-2026

For my capstone project, I will create a history club at my school where students can meet with historians and park rangers from historical sites to see and meet history up close. Members of this club will also undertake individual projects on a specific topic or event in history and present them to the public at a historical showcase we will hold at my school. 

“Preserving battlefields is about more than protecting land; it's about protecting the legacy of those who fought for the ideals we still cherish today. The American Battlefield Trust’s mission matters to me because it connects past sacrifice to present understanding and future responsibility, in which I feel that it’s our duty as students to continue the legacy.” 

For my capstone project, I will create a series of videos to help spread information about Wyse Fork battlefield, the site of the Battle of Wyse Fork, also known as the Second Battle of Kinston, fought in March 1865. This battlefield has roots not only in the Civil War, since it was the second-largest battle in North Carolina during the war, but also in the American Revolution, where it was the site of several skirmishes. I'm excited to explore these topics and create videos that encourage young people to learn about history!

“To me, historic preservation is a way to show history really happened, that it isn't just dates in a textbook, but to show what history once was and to help today's learners experience not only the tragedies but the greatest our country has accomplished.”

I hope to provide upper elementary students in New Hampshire with the opportunity to learn about how our state participated in the Civil War as part of my capstone project. Through three engaging sessions, youth will explore Civil War history and New Hampshire’s role in it with storytelling, hands-on activities, and actors and locations that bring the past to life. These events aim to spark a lasting love of history and show that history isn’t just found in textbooks.

“I am most looking forward to working with other history-loving members of my community. As I build on my capstone, I hope to connect more closely with smaller historical societies, universities, and museums. I’m especially excited to become an active part of the New Hampshire history community and to give back to the groups and mentors who have supported me along the way. Being part of this network of passionate people and learning from their experiences is something I truly look forward to.”

Through informing students and the general public on the West Coast about wars that are often thought to have been exclusively fought thousands of miles away, my capstone project highlights local Civil War landmarks, such as Camp Carleton, fostering more personal and direct connections to our nation's rich history.

“I was drawn to working with the Trust because it doesn't just preserve land, but rather, it preserves memory, turning battlefields into living classrooms. This inspires reflection and civic understanding in a way that is far more relatable than just a textbook.”

My battlefield project focuses on creating a historical marker in honor of Jerry Quinn, a hometown hero who raised the United States flag above the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, while under heavy shelling during the American Civil War. I hope that this town-based initiative—planting the marker and commemorating Quinn’s courage—will strengthen community bonds in Weymouth and inspire similar acts of remembrance and unity across the United States.

“I am excited to participate in Youth Advocacy Day because it’s a reminder that young voices matter. We are the future, and by speaking up and advocating for issues, we can show that youth care about creating positive change. I hope that by raising our voices, we demonstrate that we are ready and willing to be part of the solutions—if we’re given the chance.”

For my capstone project, I will write a series of blog posts about the different battlefields in Ohio, some of which focus on commonly overlooked heroes and stories.

“To me, historic preservation is a way to reaffirm our future through remembering both our past struggles and triumphs.”

My capstone will highlight how battlefields and historic sites can be transformed into living classrooms not only preserving the past, but empowering young people, immigrants, and communities of color to see themselves as part of America’s unfinished story.

“I was drawn to working with the Trust because preserving history isn’t just about protecting places, it’s about protecting the stories and voices that built this country. The Trust’s mission to safeguard battlefields and make them spaces of learning aligns with my own passion for ensuring that future generations can engage with history not as something distant, but as something alive and connected to the struggles we face today.”

I plan to work with local, state, and federal organizations and historians to improve the experience of battlefield visitation in North Dakota and increase public awareness about the opportunities in our state for historical engagement.

“The organization has a vision I share. It was inspiring to come across a group of people not just with a dream to preserve battlefields and educate Americans about their history, but also with a track record: 60,000+ acres of battlefields have been preserved as a result of their efforts. I was fortunate enough to visit my first battlefield (Gettysburg) when I was just six years old, and the experience has stuck with me ever since. The ABT’s goal of ensuring future generations might experience that same—or even heightened—experience was an exigence I knew I could proudly stand behind.”

In my community of San Antonio, I would launch a project called The Hidden History of Bexar to spotlight lesser-known Civil War-era sites across Bexar County. Many don’t realize Texas’s role during the war: supply routes, recruitment grounds, and Confederate encampments. I’d partner with local historians, teachers, and archives to identify overlooked landmarks like cemeteries, encampment zones, or faded markers. Then I’d organize a student-led team to research and write site histories, interview experts, and create videos. We’d build an interactive digital map, linking each location to QR codes placed on-site so visitors could access stories right from their phones.

“I want young people to understand that history isn’t distant. It’s immediate. It’s alive in the land beneath our feet. Preserving and interpreting these sites reminds us who we’ve been and what we owe each other as citizens.”

Few people are aware that the first free legally-sanctioned African American settlement in the U.S. predates the Emancipation Proclamation by over 100 years. My project is to create a greater awareness of this settlement known as Fort Mose, which is located in the oldest city in the U.S.: St. Augustine, Florida. In the late 1600s to 1700s, Spanish Florida offered freedom to enslaved people who escaped the British colonies of South Carolina and Georgia, in exchange for serving in the militia that protected Spanish Florida against the British. The Fort Mose militia, in fact, defeated the British in the 1740s Battle of Bloody Mose, which was fought on the site. 

With the goal of educating citizens on the importance of Fort Mose, my American Battlefield Trust project will be a documentary film on Fort Mose that I will write and produce, profiling the fort’s history and the soldiers who lived and fought there. I plan to interview historians, archeologists, and others who have studied Fort Mose. The film will also highlight Fort Mose’s periodic archaeological digs, in which I will participate. In the digs, we expect to uncover soldier remains and musket bullet casings from the 1700s! 

“To me, historic preservation is a way to honor the stories, courage, and bravery embedded in battlefields across our country. It’s not just about land preservation; it’s about maintaining a connection to our past, understanding how communities have evolved, and ensuring that future generations can learn from and appreciate where we came from. If we lose our battlefields, we lose our connection to our country’s historical roots.”