July 22 and my blueprint has been approved! What a great feeling... after 6 months of thinking, planning, evaluating...and starting all over again; the relief of finally having a grasp on how I am going to make a difference in my academic community is inexplicable.

One aspect of my blueprint for social justice that was different than other blueprints I've read was my goal for leadership development. This was a goal that was suggested by Zach Dryden and Rachel Burrows. Since I have planned to run my blueprint on a smaller scale (aka, no funding necessary) Yp4 offered me the opportunity to attend Camp Wellstone's citizen action training in my home town of Philadelphia.

"Wellstone Action is a national center for training and leadership
development for the progressive movement. Founded in January 2003,
Wellstone Action’s mission is to honor the legacy of Paul and Sheila
Wellstone by continuing their work through training, educating,
mobilizing and organizing a vast network of progressive individuals and
organizations" wellstone.org

July 26 and 27 was the kick off of my blueprint. I attended the Wellstone training at the Double Tree Hotel in center city Philadelphia where I attended many motivating hours of training. Camp Wellstone gave me useful skills and tips on the strategic planning that is involved in the progressive movement. There were lectures on leadership skills, lobbying, GOTV work, and dealing with the media. It was also comforting and exciting to run into City Councilman Melvin Carter, a trainer at Camp Wellstone and member of the Young Elected Officials network, who saw my Yp4 shirt and expressed his enthusiasm towards our organization!

The best thing I heard all weekend though, was 'you are now part of a network of over 16,000 progressive activists who have completed Camp Wellstone" Its true... as activists and leaders in the progressive movement, we have to keep making those crucial connections and network with our national partners. This two day camp not only gave me skills to make social change, it also allowed me to connect with other activists in my region.

Our senior fellows weren't lying at the national summit when they said take advantage of all the support and resources Yp4 can offer you in your work for social justice. Rachel and Zach suggested to me that I create a goal for leadership development and use my funding for this training- and I am truly glad I did. So, if you are struggling to create a goal in how you can make a difference through your campaign- keep developing your own skills as a progressive leader, and attend a training..and I strongly encourage looking into Camp Wellstone.