Youth Collaboratory Fellowship
Find your people. Build your power.
You know that feeling when you look around your school, your neighborhood, or your town and think, there has to be a better way? That feeling matters. It’s often the first sign of civic power waking up.
Youth Collaboratory is Citizen University’s long-term investment in young people who care about their communities and want to learn how change actually happens — with others, over time, and rooted in real places.
The Fellowship is a six-month experience for high school students that blends learning, relationship-building, and hands-on action. Fellows build civic power together, design real projects in their communities, and join a national network of people who take young leadership seriously.
Right now, applications for Youth Collaboratory are closed — but this work is ongoing, and there are clear ways to stay connected.
YC made me realize power isn’t some adult-only thing. It’s something we already have. I just needed a place to unlock it.
Why Youth Collaboratory runs locally
Youth Collaboratory is a place-based program by design.
From now through 2028, Citizen University is focusing on launching local and regional Youth Collaboratories, rather than running one national cohort at a time. We’ve learned that young people build deeper, more lasting power when they’re learning alongside others who understand their local context — the same school systems, city councils, transportation limits, and community dynamics.
That’s why cohorts open one region at a time.
Citizen University is intentionally growing Youth Collaboratory as a local, place-based program through 2028.
If enough students in a particular region express interest, we may decide to open a future cohort there. The interest list helps shape where Youth Collaboratory goes next — and ensures we’re responding to real energy on the ground.
Start building power now
You don’t need to wait for a cohort to begin practicing civic power.
The Power Walk
A short, guided experience that helps you notice how power shows up in everyday life — in your school, your community, and your relationships. It’s simple, grounded, and often changes how people see themselves as civic actors.
Explore Citizen University resources
We share tools, stories, and practices that help people understand power, belonging, and civic life — without jargon, and without requiring you to already be an “expert.”
Questions? We’re here.
If you’re a student, parent, educator, or mentor with questions about Youth Collaboratory, future cohorts, or whether this might be a fit, reach out anytime.
Email: [email protected]
We’ll do our best to respond and point you toward next steps that actually make sense.
Youth Collaboratory student Ciera Roseboro shares how claiming your power can come from helping others claim theirs.
Anishka Durvasula stepped up as a civic catalyst after noticing a lack of current events coverage at her high school.
Since she was young, Harmonie has been increasing her literacy in power and using it for good.
Ellie Friedman shares how she built power — and intergenerational relationships — as a member of the Youth Collaboratory.
