McFarland High Students Showcase Creativity Ahead of Leaders in Life Conference

Mounds of teal T-shirts stretch across worktables as screens lift and lower in steady rhythm. Inside a busy screen printing shop at McFarland High School, students carefully stack, inspect, and prepare more than 1,350 shirts — each one destined for a student attending the Leaders in Life Youth Conference next month.

For the McFarland students behind the presses, this is more than a production run. It’s a hands-on lesson in teamwork, entrepreneurship, and meeting a real-world deadline — and a powerful example of students supporting students.

That same student-driven spirit is at the heart of the Leaders in Life Youth Conference itself, which returns for its 26th year on Thursday, March 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. at Dignity Health Arena. Open to middle and high school students across Kern County, the conference continues a long-standing tradition of youth leadership, empowerment, and student voice. Registration is now open.

A quarter century ago, the conference began with a simple question: what if students led the conversation? While attending the Bakersfield Business Conference, Kern County businessman Morgan Clayton found himself inspired by discussions about leadership, innovation, and the future — and wondered why young people didn’t have a similar space of their own.

That idea led Clayton to partner with the Kern County Network for Children and the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office to create a conference designed by students, for students. The first Leaders in Life Conference was held in February 2000 and welcomed 500 students. Since then, it has grown into one of the largest youth-led conferences in the nation, bringing together hundreds of student leaders each year.

Today, Leaders in Life continues to give students a platform to explore issues that matter most to them, including mental health, substance abuse prevention, leadership development, and planning for their futures. That student-centered mission is reflected not only in the conference sessions, but also in the partnerships that help bring the event to life.

This year, that includes students from McFarland High School’s Cougar Creations Club, who took on the challenge of producing custom-printed T-shirts for every conference participant.

“The collaboration grew from a shared commitment to student leadership and hands-on career preparation,” said Lourdes Bucher, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support at the Kern County Superintendent of Schools.

After learning about McFarland High School’s screen-printing program through KCSOS Chief of Staff Steve Sanders, coordination began last summer with McFarland Unified School District Superintendent Aaron Resendez and the Cougar Creations Club students and staff.

The finished items were delivered to the KCSOS warehouse this week, where they will be staged until the event. The project culminated in a high-quality final product while providing students with meaningful experience in design, production, problem-solving, and teamwork — skills closely aligned with career technical education pathways and future careers.

Leaders in Life is organized for teens, by teens, and partnerships like this underscore that philosophy by connecting student creativity with real-world impact — long before the first conference session begins.

Event Details

Date: Thursday, March 12
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Location: Dignity Health Arena
Audience: Middle and High School Students

To register or learn more, visit www.leadersinlife.org or contact Anna Espinoza at anespinoza@kern.org.