We're recruiting new youth advisors and need your help!

Good morning CTC,

We’re getting ready to open applications for our next group of Pueblo CTC Youth Advisors, and we’d love your help identifying young people who would be a great fit.

We’ll be making an open call for Youth Advisors on social media, but we also want to take a more intentional approach to recruitment. You know the young people in our community. You may know a teen who has great ideas, asks thoughtful questions, speaks up when something matters to them, or simply has a passion for making Pueblo better—even if they don’t necessarily see themselves as a “leader.” We’re looking for young people ages 13–20 who are willing to learn, contribute, try new things, and work alongside both youth and adults.

What makes a great Youth Advisor?

We’re looking for a combination of skills and personal characteristics. They do not need to have all of these skills already. Many of these are skills they will develop through their experience as a Youth Advisor.

Skills they can build and develop:

• Public speaking
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creative and outside-the-box thinking
• Communication
• Working collaboratively with others
• Social media

 Characteristics we’re looking for:

• Willingness to learn and listen
• Willingness to share their ideas in a group
• Collaborative
• Creative
• Motivated to do the work
• Takes initiative
• Passionate about Pueblo
• Eager to learn
• Respectful of themselves and others
• Curious
• Knows when to step up and when to step back
• Able to communicate effectively
• Insightful and open-minded
• Willing to try new things

 Think of someone? If a young person comes to mind, please encourage them to apply.

You can also help by writing a short recommendation explaining why you think they would be a good fit for the Youth Advisor role. It doesn’t need to be formal or lengthy. A few sentences about what you’ve noticed about the young person, their strengths, their interests, or why you think they would contribute to the group is perfect.

The young person can:

1. Include your recommendation with their application, or
2. Email the recommendation directly to me.

Most importantly, please don’t limit your recommendations to young people who already consider themselves leaders. We’re interested in the teen who has something to say, the creative thinker who sees things differently, the quiet young person with great ideas, the teen who is always asking “why?”, or the young person who simply cares deeply about their community. And they’ll have real opportunities to put those ideas into action. Current Youth Advisor projects include beautifying four Pueblo bus stops and conducting “secret shops” of local businesses and agencies to identify ways they can become more welcoming and youth-friendly. Youth Advisors will also have opportunities to develop their own Passion Projects and work with adults and other young people to create change in the community.

If someone comes to mind, please reach out to them and encourage them to apply. Here is the application, due by September 2: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/f1H8xTqXQe

Thank you for helping us make sure Pueblo’s youth voice is diverse, authentic, and represented in the work of CTC!