Elizabeth, second from right, and her schoolmates present their “Inside Out” project.

In our summer camps, schools and youth groups, teens are often in situations of leadership. Whether these positions are color-war captains or project organizers, young people are definitely learning about influence in their communities and the global scene. In the Eimatai Leadership Development Conference, run by Yeshiva University, high-schoolers explore the topic of Jewish dual identity to grow into leaders. The program, named appropriately after the Mishna by Rabbi Hillel, is all about being a leader and a mensch.

I recently went with five of my classmates and our assistant principal, and none of us really knew what was going to happen. We had read the outline of the program but were still unsure of what to expect. At the retreat center in Baltimore, we picked up our nametags and immediately started meeting new friends on the way to lunch.

One facet of the program was “buzz groups,” short daily discussions with peers and a college advisor. During these sessions, we learned about what makes our personal identity, including our personal emotions, Western values and Jewish and Zionist connections. One activity we did was similar to the well-known Facebook trend of the “25 random things about me” note, making lists of the quirks that make up our personalities. We also discovered there are overlaps in Western and Jewish values, but also some distinctions.

In another session, we split our group in half and debated issues that challenged our allegiance to America over our ties to Israel, like deciding whether an American should join the Israeli Defense Forces or the U.S. Army. Most of us sided with Israel and found it challenging to argue for the other side. An underlying theme throughout these sessions and the conference was the question of “American Jew” or “Jewish American,” as in what label we use and what part of our identity we give precedence. There was no definite conclusion, but it certainly got everyone thinking about what makes a leader, and a person, in the first place. It soon became clear that a person’s roots and core are what make a great leader.

On the second day of the conference, Jessica Haller, an environmentalist, gave a presentation on energy conservation and our Jewish obligation to take care of our world. I found it interesting how the conference incorporated leadership, character and Judaism to provide a full-picture view of being a well-rounded person. In general, the programming didn’t focus exclusively on Judaism or leadership; rather, it showed that a Jewish person sees the world through Jewish eyes and has a great responsibility to be a leader at all times.

The main focus of the program was starting school initiatives. Eimatai was about learning the skills to start a concrete effort to use leadership tools. Each school met with an advisor to brainstorm ideas to improve their school or community. The first brainstorming session felt impossible. No one knew how to start coming up with ideas, and settling on one plan seemed unrealistic. By the end of the meeting, it felt like no progress would ever be made.

Yet during the next meeting we got down to business. With much patience and persistence, our group decided to make a new scholarship fund for our school. We felt it was a need that hit especially close to home in our tightly knit day school. Using teamwork, we divided our tasks with an action-plan chart. To kick off this mission, we planned a pre-Passover car wash and babysitting event to make preparations for the holiday convenient, spread the word on our goal and raise money for the fund.

All the groups were expected to present their plans with a minute-long “elevator speech” and a decorated tri-fold poster board with a detailed action plan explaining the process that will be used to start the initiative. The ideas included meeting with the elderly, creating special Yom HaAtzma-ut programming and organizing a Lag BaOmer concert to benefit Sderot. As a reward and encouragement to continue in philanthropy, Eimatai offers a micro-grant of $250 to all schools that follow all steps of their action plans.

Overall, the three-day event was an opportunity for new ideas to grow and for teens to see that we can do great things. Through discussions and challenges, we opened our minds to new ideas and tested out being leaders. We discovered what tools are necessary to guide us and explored our identity through a Jewish lens.

Elizabeth Kirshner is passionate about being Jewish, being on the JTab, people-watching, living life to the fullest and collecting quotes. She always has a song stuck in her head, usually Regina Spektor (a MOT), KT Tunstall or Jason Mraz. The Style Network is a must and fashion magazines are more than just a guilty pleasure.