| “Amazing people. Unforgettable. Life-changing. Nothing like it. My world of opportunities just expanded.” |
An eight-day intensive leadership experience filled with unexpected and unplanned challenges and hurdles, the LDZ is an opportunity for young people to learn how to create, manage, and navigate large organizations. During this journey, students practice a broad array of competencies including public speaking, policy writing, and constituency development. |
Since 1982, students from over 20 states and four Latin American nations have convened to play this leadership game of vision, influence and power management. Personal growth, self-awareness, and mindset often undergo tremendous change through the LDZ experience; Students grow to envision themselves as both change-makers and game-changers as the leaders of today. |
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS & PROGRAM COST
Who is eligible to apply for the LDZ? All students are welcome to apply for the LDZ if they meet the following eligibility requirements:
What are the program requirements? All students must:
| What does the admissions process look like?
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What is the student cost to attend the LDZ? The cost of the LDZ is broken down into distinct fees, all of which will culminate in supplying your student with the adequate resources for a fulfilling and fun leadership experience.
| What does the payment schedule look like? NHI will provide details about the payment schedule upon acceptance into the program, with terms of 4-6 payments. NHI is committed to flexibility - that is, payment plans and fundraising tools are available to all families who request them. After our Winter admission deadline, NHI reserves the right to change payment structures. The LDZ is sponsored by families, volunteers, donors and university hosts. Were it not for our college hosts and volunteers, the program cost would nearly triple! |
2025 PROGRAM TENTATIVE DATES & LOCATIONS
The LDZ is able to take place due to the generosity of our host institutions. The locations for in-person LDZs are as follows:
| Dennis Chavez New Mexico LDZ This program is reserved for students from New Mexico. |  |
SPONSORED BY:
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After successfully completing the program, LDZers often reflect on the experience as a space where they felt free to express themselves, their ideas, and honed their skills. They felt culturally embraced, understood, and valued. At the LDZ, they began to see themselves as playing a leadership role wherever life would take them, whether at home, in school, in a career, or in service to others. Most of all, they felt special in knowing that leadership is a life-long calling in which they will have a special role to play with NHI.
HISTORY OF THE LDZ
The LDZ was started in 1982 in Austin, Texas, as two-day experience at the Capitol. In 1983 the program expanded to work with a statewide audience and expanded to eight days. By 1990 the program was operating in three states and today is housed at six different locations. Despite thematic shifts and content adjustments, LDZ continues to engage students in a learning maze designed for the rigors of leading large organizations. The program, Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session, is named after the first provisional Vice President of the Republic of Texas and a leader for democracy and liberty in both Mexico and the United States. However, its name is also an homage to De Zavala Park in Houston where NHI's founder and president Ernesto Nieto watched and learned from his parents who were community park directors. Values, lessons, and the overall spirit of community life at De Zavala Park back then inspired the environment and culture of the LDZ summer experience. |
ARCHIVED LDZ SLIDESHOWS AND TESTIMONIALS |
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