Mukilteo, Wash., May 16, 2022 – Leadership Launch, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing student leaders and strengthening communities, is hosting Emotion Commotion on May 21, 2022, from 12:00pm to 4:00 p.m. at the Henry M. Jackson Conference Center in Everett Community College.
The student-organized event will feature keynote speakers and workshops focused on the topics of mental wellness through movement, self-expression through art, and leadership through service and connection with the community. Teens from 8th grade to college are welcome to register and attend for free.
Emotion Commotion is presented by Leadership Launch in partnership with Everett Community College, South Everett-Mukilteo Rotary Club, Community Foundation of Snohomish County, and Kiwanis Club of Mukilteo.
The first 50 registrants for Emotion Commotion will receive a free exclusive event T-shirt. Food and snacks will be provided at the event. Students can register for the event at leadershiplaunch.org, or at this link.
Every year, Leadership Launch students plan and execute a “launch project,” which is a student-led service project that benefits the community in some way that is meaningful to the students. This year’s launch project is Emotion Commotion: Connecting and Leading Through Mental Wellness and Self-Expression. This event reflects the students’ collective solution to feeling disconnected from each other and the community as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s important for teens to work towards a future with a stable mental and emotional well-being,” says Glenda Wabaluku, a Kamiak High School senior and Leadership Launch student. “The pandemic has stunted mental wellness growth for most students, so we created this event to give them the chance to recover for lost time while giving service to those in need around them.”
The topics are areas that the students wish to spark conversation, connection, and learning with their fellow peers. There will be a different keynote speaker for each topic, including Councilmember Mohamed Abdi of Tukwila.
The workshops will include a diverse selection of activities that both introverted and extroverted students can feel comfortable engaging in, ranging from yoga and martial arts to poetry and a nature walk. Students in attendance will walk away with various tools and techniques to promote better mental wellness and connection.
“Through the past couple of years, I have had more mental health struggles than ever before,” says Alexa Marcelo, a Kamiak High School freshman and Leadership Launch student. “Planning this event has widened my eyes about how much teens go through, and the activities we have planned are a good way to show them how to help themselves and those around them on their mental wellness journeys.”
Last year, Leadership Launch students planned a series of mini launch-projects that ranged from distributing food to people experiencing houselessness to writing and delivering thank-you cards to first responders. Emotion Commotion is the first time that the students are planning a formal in-person event since 2019 with their “We Are Culture” event.
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
