WASHINGTON, D.C.-Alejandro Posada of Douglas was recently selected to participate in the National Youth Leadership Forum on Defense, Intelligence and Diplomacy (NYLF/DID) from February 15 to February 20, in Washington, D.C. Having demonstrated academic achievement and an interest in a career related to national security, Posada will join approximately 400 outstanding high school juniors and seniors from across the United States at the forum.

"Imagine being sixteen or seventeen years old and the responsibility of securing the United States at home and abroad rests on your shoulders. Through specialized simulations, the National Youth Leadership Forum on Defense, Intelligence and Diplomacy strives to put students like Alejandro Posada in the driver's seat of building a strategy that will uphold our national security," said Donna Snyder, executive director of NYLF. "The combination of interacting with professionals and with other students in this setting ensures that leaders are being developed so the future of our country will remain bright."

The curriculum for the Forum on Defense, Intelligence and Diplomacy is based on actual world events, allowing participants to lean from the examples set by previous generations of leaders and encouraging them to develop a perspective and tenacity unique to upcoming generations of leaders. Throughout the forum, students will examine how the U.S. plans for peace and prepares for crisis. Students will meet with leaders from key agencies and institutions.

In the past, NYLF/DID has visited several government institutions and military installations, including the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Development Command at Quantico, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Naval Academy, a variety of embassies and many others.

NYLF is a nonprofit, educational organization committed to empowering young people to make well-informed career choices. Since being founded in 1992, more than 100,000 young leaders have taken advantage of the programs offered by NYLF. For additional information, visit us at www.nylf.org.