Youth Link University
Class Schedule 2025-2026
Program Overview
Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026 through Tuesday June 2, 2026 from 5-7 pm
@ Crossroads Community Center (Community Room)
Program Timeline
September - December: Marketing, Recruitment & Selection
(Sept-Nov): Outreach
(Nov-Dec): Interviews/Selection
Detailed Class Schedule
January 6
Orientation & Welcome Dinner
5:00 - Opening – Land Acknowledgement
5:05 - Welcome – City Manager/Council liaison/Parks Director (TBD)
5:15 - Gracious Space Activity
5:30 - Overview (YLU youth chair, YL staff)
- Program goals, schedule, expectations
- Thank you - Sponsors
5:40 - Dinner w/ table prompts
6:30 - 1-1 Questions
7:00 - Dismissal
Activity: Meet & Greet; Explore Identity, Culture, and Your Why
January 20
Lecture Topic: Business 101 (Form, Structure, Operation)
Activity: Team Formation & Team Project Assignment
February 3
Lecture Topic: Business Finance (Cost, Profit, Loss)
Activity: TBD
February 10
Lecture Topic: Marketing (Digital, Social Media)
Activity: TBD
March 3
Lecture Topic: Project Management
Activity: TBD
March 17
Lecture Topic: Product Development
Activity: TBD
March 31
Lecture Topic: TBD
Activity: TBD
(Adjusted schedule due to Spring break)
April 21
Lecture Topic: TBD
Activity: TBD
May 5
Final Project Prep
May 19
Final Project Presentation
June 2
Graduation!
Special YLU Speaker Series
Bellevue City Hall – Council Chambers (TBD) from 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Thursday, October 30, 2025
Cecilia Aragon
Innovative research, and a stint at NASA designing software for Mars missions, led President Obama to call her "one of the top scientists and engineers" in the United States.
When I was a child, a teacher said, "Why are you working so hard in math? You should be getting a boyfriend." And, as a first-generation Latina whose parents spoke with thick accents, I was always placed in the slow reading groups in school. Even though I loved math and science, I internalized others' expectations of me and began to believe that I wasn't smart enough to do scientific research. I was afraid of failure, so I dropped out of school.
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Luis Poggi
Youtube Star for Singing in Venezuela; was VP of Product for Zillow
Currently CEO and Founder of AI Startup Company
Harvard Graduate; very active helping minority students - Cristo Rey school
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Tanji Johnson
Fitness Body Building Champion; Military Vet
Many talks - When Failure is Winning; Empower your inner champion
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Nigel Storey
CTO of Zappos; VP of Operations J&J
He is based out of Vegas