--- title: "\"Hear My Voice: Youth Leadership at FIRST\" (FIRST Inspire Blog)" description: Alumna Katie Johnson, FIRST Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Youth Advisory Committee Member, reflects on how to make all students’ FIRST experiences more inclusive image: https://community.firstinspires.org/hubfs/_blog/first/katie-johnson-youth-leader-first-lgbtq.jpg --- My name is Katie Johnson, and I’ve grown up in *FIRST *programs. My parents have coached teams since I was two years old, and I always knew that I wanted to get involved as soon as I could. I joined a *FIRST* LEGO League team when I was in third grade, and since then my involvement with *FIRST *has snowballed. I am now in my seventh year on a *FIRST *Tech Challenge team and my fourth year on a *FIRST *Robotics Competition team. I have become who I am today through my experiences in *FIRST*. I have identified my academic interests (I intend to major in computer science because of my time in *FIRST*), learned about my passions, and become a strong leader. While I am a leader within my own teams, to me the most rewarding projects that I have worked on are those that have reached a much broader audience. I am passionate about creating diverse, accepting environments, and in my time in *FIRST *I have created or help run numerous communities focused on diversity and inclusion. A current project that is very important to me is LGBTQ+ of *FIRST*, an online community that I have run alongside a few friends for the past two years.I am so proud of [LGBTQ+ of *FIRST*](https://lgbtqoffirst.org/) because of the impact that it has -- members have said that they only truly accepted themselves or learned how to be accepting of others after joining LGBTQ+ of *FIRST*. I also help run [*FIRST *Ladies](http://www.ladiesinfirst.com/), and I have participated in the #*FIRST*LikeAGirl campaign.... *Read more from "[Hear My Voice: Youth Leadership at FIRST](https://www.firstinspires.org/community/inspire/youth-leadership)" on the FIRST Inspire blog.* ** [Alumni](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/alumni), [STEM for Everyone](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/stem-for-everyone) #### Share it: [** ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://community.firstinspires.org/hear-my-voice-youth-leadership-at-first-first-inspire-blog) [** ](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://community.firstinspires.org/hear-my-voice-youth-leadership-at-first-first-inspire-blog) [** ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://community.firstinspires.org/hear-my-voice-youth-leadership-at-first-first-inspire-blog) ![Default Author Image](https://community.firstinspires.org/hubfs/Community%20Blog%20v2/images/FIRST-author-icon.svg) Author [FIRST Staff](https://community.firstinspires.org/author/first) These blog posts have been contributed by members of *FIRST* staff. *FIRST* is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Manchester, N.H. ### Related Posts ** [STEM for Everyone](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/stem-for-everyone), [Volunteers](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/volunteers) Who's Who at FIRST HQ: Meet Rosa December 13, 2019 ** [STEM for Everyone](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/stem-for-everyone) FIRST and Project THRIVE June 20, 2023 ** [FRC](https://community.firstinspires.org/topic/frc) Accessibility Updates for FIRST Robotics Competition December 15, 2022 ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1200203950045814&ev=PageView&noscript=1) ![](https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=2615041699514&noscript=1) ![](https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=2615041699514&event=PageVisit&noscript=1)