Celebrate Student Leaders
Celebrating student leaders is a powerful expression of gratitude and recognition for their unwavering dedication, passion, and drive in making a difference within your school, community, and the world. Their achievements serve as a source of inspiration and hope, not just for their peers but for all of us.
NSLW Social Media Challenge
Showcase and celebrate your student leaders with the official NSLW Social Media Challenge:
Monday: “Pic” Your Mentor
Choose a teacher, adviser, and/or coach who you look up to as a mentor and snap a photo with them. Share the image on social media using the #NSLW2026 hashtag and share how they inspire you to be your best self.
Tuesday: Mindful Leaders
Focus on creating a positive change through a day dedicated to mental health and well-being for peers and leaders in your school community. Consider hosting a “Kindness Day” with uplifting notes or stress-relief activities such as yoga, reflective activities, or art therapy. Take a photo to capture your mindfulness moment and share it on social media using the #NSLW2026 hashtag.
Wednesday: BINGO Day Challenge
Download and post our BINGO story template on your Instagram story and add the #NSLW2026 hashtag to showcase the ways you get involved in your community. Share with your network of friends and get them involved in the conversation on service!
Thursday: Throwback to Service
Reflect on your favorite memories of service and post your favorite picture of you (and your organization) giving back to your community. Share how service positively impacts you and your community and the ways you’re planning to serve moving forward. Don’t forget to use the #NSLW2026 hashtag!
Friday: Leading Positive Change Together
Capture a group photo with your club/organization to showcase your chosen family at school! Share the photo and accomplishments you are most proud of using the #NSLW2026 hashtag.
How to Participate
Share your activities on social media using #NSLW2026 to inspire others and celebrate the incredible impact of student leaders in your community! Let’s make #NSLW2026 a week to remember—full of service, appreciation, and leadership!
Here are more ideas to show your student leaders that their efforts and impact are valued and appreciated:
News features. Contact local journalists and share a story about how your students have impacted the community, your NSLW activities, or invite them to join an upcoming project. Contact [email protected] with questions and for a list of local media contacts.
Student Leader Appreciation Event. Recognize all student leaders who are involved in any leadership in your school; clubs, teams, etc. Schedule an awards ceremony, banquet, luncheon, or breakfast, and invite your principal, superintendent, school board, and even local elected officials or local celebrities to honor your students and those who support them.
Morning announcements. Make a school-wide announcement about NSLW and the importance of student leadership for making positive change. Consider featuring one or more of your student leaders each day of NSLW.
Student newspaper. Collaborate with a school publication to publish an article that publicizes NSLW and celebrates the accomplishments of your student leaders.
Alumni even. Invite program alumni to address your group, focusing on the things they learned from being involved as student leaders that they find useful now in their careers.
Host an NSLW assembly. A successful National Student Leadership Week (NSLW) assembly is a great launching pad for an engaging and exciting celebration. Your assembly can communicate the goals and spirit of NSLW and motivate the entire student body and staff to join forces in service with you and student leaders.
Student poll. Create and distribute a poll asking the student body the most important problem facing the community and seek their suggestions to solve it. Based on the results, draft a proposal for a student-led volunteer project addressing the most popular issue.
Class competitions. Host competitions to collect donations or raise charitable funds, with the winning class earning a special treat.
School media coverage. Plan NSLW event coverage in the school newspaper, yearbook, and school social media posts. Mix inspirational quotes with activity posts/tweets. Our social media page provides image assets you can save and use on your social media channels. Make sure you include #NSLW2026 in each post!
Leadership wall. Create a “wall of leadership” where student leaders begin posting their acts of leadership and challenge their fellow students to do the same.
Community leader meet-and-greet. Invite your superintendent, local mayor, city council, or state representative to have a luncheon or meet-and-greet with your student leaders. Talk about the importance of student leadership within your community.
Mayoral proclamation. Ask your Mayor for an NSLW proclamation to celebrate the student leaders in your community. Here’s a sample proclamation to share with your mayor’s office.
Host local elected officials. Customize this sample invitation to send to your state senator or state representative and ask if they will participate in your NSLW celebration.
Do a service project. When considering how your chapter or council will commemorate the week, get inspired by browsing more than 11,000 projects and activities in our data base completed by Honor Society chapters and student councils around the world.
Student mentorship. Send your student leaders to visit a younger group of students in your middle level or elementary school. The leadership of your students could inspire the next class to do great things!
Volunteer hour/donation matching. Work with a local company or organization and ask them to match the number of service hours or donations that your students are able to raise during NSLW!