At the Ryan White National Youth Conference, I was in the right place at the right time. The conference, which took place February 13-15 in Danvers, Massachusetts, was the best conference I have ever attended. The conference as a whole was very rejuvenating, motivating, and fun. Every workshop that I attended was unbelievably interesting and informative. I gained knowledge on various subjects like how to reach an African American male, and I learned different strategies to present information such as role playing different skits and having the audience discuss what happened in the role play.
People prefer entertainment to lecture.
The part that was most intriguing to me was the fact that young people led the majority of the workshops. I also had the opportunity to see old friends and make new ones. We went to several workshops together and supported and learned from each other when we had to present. The learning took place both during the working sessions and continued informally after hours at our social gatherings. Meeting other peer educators and youth leaders at the conference really gave me some encouragement.