Cooper J. Andrews

Youth Leadership Initiative is a program through LEAD DSM that immerses young adults in various situations to learn via their community and business leaders in Greater Des Moines. Following a multi-staged interview process, I was fortunate to be selected for the 2024 class. The lessons teach self, group, professional, and community leadership skills to prepare for the future. Previews of the learning days covered include personal development, government policies, equity, and inclusion. Through my involvement in YLI, I have met with Iowan government officials to help challenge their thought processes on past and future bills, had small group conversations with some of the most successful business leaders in Iowa, and have raised more than $7,000 for people in the Greater Des Moines area with food and clothing insecurities.

• JA BizTown - Working with kids to help them better understand a business environment
• Hope Lutheran Church - Vacation Bible School - Built church community children's morals through engaging and fun mentoring services
• MS Moments - Facilitated community outreach to expand participation to convey information to others and expand special events and programs

• Maximized advertising efforts by developing content for media relations, corporate communications, and social media posts.
• Shadowed team members to learn problem-solving and best practices in customer service.

• Facilitated successful completion of projects from concept to launch.
• Created and managed project plans, timelines and budgets.

• Provided safe transportation to and from school and extracurricular activities.
• Supervised children engaged in physical activity, learning and social skills with peers.