In this brief, we share themes from 36 interviews with 25 youth organizing participants who completed high school during the study. All but one participant enrolled directly in college. These findings highlight young people’s reflections about the skills and dispositions they honed through organizing, and how they use those skills to navigate college.

The table below describes the alumni sample whose interview data is reflected in this brief. Most of the young people represented here were interviewed in high school as active YO participants and again in their first, second, or both years of college; a few were enrolled in college when the study began. As college students, most were no longer actively engaged with their YO group’s campaign work, but nearly all kept in touch with staff and participants through social media, phone calls, and in-person visits during breaks. A smaller number who attended college close to their home communities remained actively involved as members, and four were employed as paid organizers while attending college. The majority were firstgeneration college students from low-income or working-class families, and several were undocumented. Approximately 70% of YO participants in the larger study identified as female; our alumni sample includes just four men and 21 women.