Teen Leadership Waco

Teen Leadership Waco (TLW) is a Greater Waco Chamber program that gives high school students a behind-the-scenes look at how their community works and the people who lead it.

Modeled after the Chamber’s Leadership Waco program, TLW brings together students from across McLennan County to learn about the businesses and organizations that make Waco work. Class days focus on areas such as local government, economic development, healthcare, nonprofits, history, and law and public safety.

Throughout the year, students meet community leaders, learn about their careers, hear about the challenges they face and the decisions they make, and have the opportunity to ask questions and learn from their experiences.

TLW also gives students opportunities to develop their own leadership skills through leadership development, team-building, service and time spent with students from other schools.

By the end of the program, students have a better understanding of their community, have been introduced to a wide range of careers and community leaders, and have had opportunities to grow as leaders themselves.

Teen Leadership Waco gives students the chance to experience Waco in a way most high school students don't.

Throughout the year, students visit businesses and organizations across the community, meet the people who lead them, and get a behind-the-scenes look at how Waco works. They have opportunities to ask questions, hear how leaders got where they are, and learn about the challenges they face and the decisions they make.

Students are also introduced to careers they may have never considered. One class day might put them in a hospital, another in a courtroom, at a local business, with a nonprofit, or learning about economic development. They meet people with very different jobs and hear the often-unexpected paths that led them there.

TLW also gives students opportunities to develop their own leadership skills, build relationships with students from other schools, and practice listening well, asking good questions and trying new things.

By the end of TLW, students have a better understanding of Waco, stronger connections across the community, a broader picture of the career opportunities available to them, and a clearer idea of the kind of leader they want to become.

TLW meets one Monday each month, from February to December. (We do not meet for class June-August.) Before applying, students should review the program calendar and make sure they can commit to the scheduled dates.

• Parent Orientation: A parent or guardian is expected to attend orientation in January before the program begins.
• Attendance: Students are expected to attend all scheduled TLW activities and may miss no more than one class day.
• Class Days: TLW days take place from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and include site visits, tours, conversations with community leaders, and leadership activities.
• Schoolwork: Students are responsible for communicating TLW dates with their school and making arrangements for missed schoolwork.
• Participation: Students are expected to participate fully and represent their school, Teen Leadership Waco, and the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce well.

• Applicants must be classified as a sophomore or junior in high school as of September 1 of the current school year.
• Applicants agree to participate in the Teen Leadership Waco Orientation Retreat scheduled for Monday, February 1, 2027 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Applicants agree to participate in a group community service project with their other class members.
• Applicants agree to complete 28 hours of community service hours during the program.
• Applicants agree to attend a minimum of 7 (of the 8) monthly workshops. Unexcused absences may result in termination from the program.