The Global Youth Excellence & Leadership Program (GYEL) emerged a decade ago as a multilateral and multistakeholder initiative of intergovernmental organizations, permanent observers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and organizations with official special consultative status in the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
United Nations stakeholders had key insights: while the UN system primarily focuses its resources on supporting individuals from the most vulnerable populations and underserved communities—particularly children lacking access to fundamental human rights such as clean water, adequate nutrition, healthcare, education, and sanitation—there remains a critical need for complementary programs serving talented students from underprivileged and under-resourced backgrounds.
At GYEL, we are deeply passionate about bridging the gap between extraordinary potential and the world’s leading diplomats, change makers, business leaders, scientists, government leaders, and experts in the arts and sciences. While providing food and water is undeniably vital, our UN stakeholders also recognize an urgent responsibility to support the future Nobel Peace Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize recipients, Turing Award computer scientists, Fields Medal mathematicians, ground-breaking medical researchers, Academy Award filmmakers, and, yes, the next Thomas Edison. These young visionaries deserve more than a basic safety net—they need best-in-class mentorship, immersive leadership training, and direct connections to global experts and institutions. By equipping them with these transformative tools, we’re not just shaping individual success stories—we’re fueling breakthroughs that can uplift entire communities and redefine what’s possible for future generations.
We recognize that in today’s increasingly complex world, excelling in just one discipline is no longer enough. Leaders must become adept across multiple fields, combining insights from different subject matters.
Our Coalition Partners to the UN are deeply passionate in leveraging their decades of global networks and resources to provide students with leaders in diverse sectors— from diplomacy to business, technology to the arts. In learning from high-performing mentors in such varied domains, participants gain a rare ability to piece together insights in ways others cannot.
In our early days serving New York City youth, GYEL operated solely through benefactors and sustained by the dedication of passionate volunteers who found joy in nurturing each student’s potential. As our program slowly expanded, growth brought both opportunities and challenges. While we celebrated reaching more students, maintaining consistent volunteer staffing and securing reliable funding became increasingly difficult.
Then, the global pandemic presented an unprecedented challenge, forcing us to pause operations for two years as donations declined and our volunteer network was stretched thin. Yet, this difficult period proved transformative. During our hiatus, we thoroughly reimagined our approach, emerging with a stronger, more sustainable structure that preserved our core mission while expanding our capacity to serve.
Empowering students —particularly the underprivileged—for top university admissions, leadership, and excellence in STEM, economics, law, and beyond.
GYEL is one of the only programs within the United Nations system designed to support students with unique strengths—whether inside or outside the classroom—who aspire to attend top universities and build impactful careers that contribute to a greater global future.
While the UN primarily focuses on essential life necessities such as clean water and healthcare, our Coalition Partners to the UN recognize that higher education is also a critical milestone and a powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty.
Our philosophy is that higher education and access to top universities are essential for students to pursue specialized learning, deepen their expertise, drive groundbreaking research, collaborate with changemakers, and build a more just and prosperous society.
GYEL’s contribution to the UN system is to collaborate with university admissions officers, educators, and education consultants to understand what is missing from the students they seek to admit, then bridge that gap by providing tailored programs that align with the desires of the world’s leading universities. We equip students with the resources, knowledge, experiences, networks, and opportunities to effectively showcase their strengths, stand out in competitive admissions, and secure their place at world-class universities—where they can further their specialized education and build meaningful careers that create lasting impact on society and the world.
While many programs focus on broad student development, GYEL is uniquely designed to support students—whether they excel in academics, leadership, STEM, entrepreneurship, or other fields—by providing them with the experiences and opportunities needed to stand out in competitive university admissions.
GYEL collaborates with admissions professionals from top global universities to understand what they look for in applicants, identify common gaps, and provide students with the skills and experiences needed to become successful candidates.
Students receive direct guidance from world-class leaders, industry pioneers, and coalition partners to the United Nations, opening doors to unique opportunities that set them apart in admissions and future careers.
91% of alumni believed GYEL strengthened their university applications. Additionally, more than 93% of parents felt that GYEL helped their child stand out in college and scholarship applications, with 96% saying they would recommend the program to other families.
GYEL identifies and invests in students with potential, regardless of where their strengths lie, ensuring they gain the experiences, recommendations, and real-world preparation needed to thrive at the highest levels.
We support students from all socioeconomic backgrounds who show promise, ensuring that access to opportunity is based on effort, ability, and potential—not privilege.
With decades of expertise, a world-class network, and direct collaboration with universities, GYEL is more than a
program—it’s a launchpad for top universities, meaningful careers, and global impact.
This overview was developed in collaboration with our esteemed advisory board, which includes college admissions officers from top-tier universities and respected private admissions consultants. We extend our sincere gratitude to them for generously contributing their time, insights, and expertise to help families understand how GYEL prepares students for success in both college and beyond.
While many high-achieving students in STEM fields focus on perfecting their coding or lab skills, top colleges want to see how those skills can address real-world needs. GYEL offers hands-on exploration of cutting-edge innovations—think artificial intelligence applications for disaster relief or data-driven insights to improve public infrastructure. By demonstrating that they can translate algorithms into community-based solutions, participants show admissions committees that they have the vision to lead in STEM beyond the classroom.
Admissions officers at competitive universities often say that successful STEM candidates must have a humanistic lens—knowing how to communicate, empathize, and collaborate across disciplines. GYEL’s international and policy-focused sessions give technologically inclined students a chance to engage with ethical questions, global policies, and leadership strategies that complement their scientific pursuits, resulting in a more holistic portfolio.
Business schools increasingly seek applicants who balance profit with purpose. GYEL’s emphasis on leadership, advocacy, and ethical initiatives helps prospective undergraduates build narratives about more than just market share or competition wins. Students craft social enterprise proposals, volunteer with international networks, or contribute to policy discussions—all showcasing a commitment to making the business world better for everyone.
In addition to standard business clubs or entrepreneurship contests, GYEL participants learn to address global concerns—like poverty alleviation or sustainability—through strategic thinking and organizational planning. This real-world approach to business problem-solving often resonates with prestigious universities eager to admit the next generation of socially conscious CEOs and innovators.
Whether a student dreams of discovering medical breakthroughs or championing environmental regulations, GYEL offers a forum for them to explore urgent issues like public health, disease prevention, and climate resilience. By bridging science and policy, participants gain a deeper understanding of how healthcare systems work and how scientific research translates into practice.
Medical admissions committees look for candidates who grasp broader healthcare frameworks—epidemiology, global health diplomacy, and ethical decision-making. Through collaborative projects or potential research paper tracks, GYEL attendees can gain experience that underscores their ability to excel in rigorous scientific environments and meaningfully advance community health initiatives.
From diplomacy simulations to analyzing international organizations, GYEL immerses humanities-oriented students in the realities of global governance. Those seeking degrees in law, international relations, political science, or cultural studies gain firsthand insights into how treaties are shaped, how human rights policies evolve, and how grassroots movements spark large-scale change.
Today’s top-tier liberal arts colleges value applicants who have moved beyond theory to real-world influence. GYEL empowers participants to conceptualize projects that tackle complex social issues, offering a chance to show leadership in areas like educational reforms or community activism. Having an endorsement or letter of recommendation tied to such a globally recognized framework can set a student apart in a crowded field of high achievers.
By exploring broad and socially relevant topics, students become more flexible in choosing majors or minors later on. Such breadth can pave the way for interdisciplinary study or even open doors to niche programs that blend, for example, economics and environmental science.
Whether writing policy briefs, pitching a social venture, or analyzing global case studies, students build practical communication expertise—an asset in all fields, from summer program or internship interviews to persuasive speeches in Model UN.
Through GYEL’s connections with United Nations affiliates and global thought leaders, participants can earn recommendations or networking opportunities that outshine the usual extracurriculars found on college résumés.
Admissions officers often see the same bullet points on every applicant’s résumé: debate club, sports, a high GPA. GYEL’s recognized brand and the depth of its initiatives ensure a distinctive narrative that underscores global awareness and a desire to forge meaningful change.
In essence, GYEL transcends the narrow confines of any single major. By uniting high-caliber instruction with genuine global engagement, it equips students across the spectrum—tech-savvy coders, aspiring CEOs, future physicians, and policy-minded humanitarians—to step beyond their comfort zones. The result is a standout profile that speaks volumes about their readiness to excel not only in university halls but also on the ever-evolving global stage.
This information is especially valuable if your child:
Don’t miss this opportunity to give your child the competitive edge that many applicants to top universities simply don’t have.
A must-attend webinar for parents who want their child to gain the competitive edge in today’s ultra-selective college admissions landscape.
This webinar was developed in collaboration with our esteemed advisory board of college admissions officers from top-tier universities and respected private admissions consultants.
We extend our sincere gratitude to them for generously contributing their time, insights, and expertise to help families understand how GYEL prepares students for success in both college and beyond.
With acceptance rates plummeting below 10% at world-class universities, even strong GPAs, SAT & ACT scores are no longer enough.
The Global Youth Excellence & Leadership (GYEL) program was recently invited to speak and featured in a national webinar co-hosted by U.S. News and CollegeAdvisor.com, titled “Start Early to Stand Out.” Designed to equip families with high-impact strategies for college success, the session featured GYEL as the voice on global leadership and extracurricular distinction.
The co-host of the event, Natalie Herring, brings nearly 30 years of senior admissions experience from some of the most selective institutions in the world, including the University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, and Dartmouth College. She has shaped admissions policy, reviewed thousands of applications, and guided students from all backgrounds to top-tier universities
During the session, Natalie emphasized the importance of starting early, building leadership experience, and developing a global perspective, and recommended GYEL for students striving to become the kind of applicants top colleges seek.
With our foundation in the United Nations system, global faculty, and hands-on curriculum, GYEL is consistently recognized by leading institutions and education experts as a program that empowers students to thrive—not just in admissions, but in life.
During the session, Natalie emphasized the importance of starting early, building leadership experience, and developing a global perspective, and recommended GYEL for students striving to become the kind of applicants top colleges seek.
With our foundation in the United Nations system, global faculty, and hands-on curriculum, GYEL is consistently recognized by leading institutions and education experts as a program that empowers students to thrive—not just in admissions, but in life.
In 2023, we marked a significant milestone with the appointment of Ms. Joanne Jones as Executive Director and the granting of United Nations credentials. Her talent for growing programs that benefit society has been proven through her decades of nonprofit experience, and most importantly, through her growth of the Feeding NY program from hundreds when it began to today serving meals to 10,000+ families each year. Ms. Jones’s mandate from the Coalition Partners to the UN focuses on expanding our impact while maintaining the specialized attention that sets our program apart.
Recognizing the need for a more sustainable operational framework, Ms. Jones and our Coalition Partners to the UN took inspiration from successful models such as Model United Nations, which has thrived through participant funding. Programs like GYEL and Model UN have gained significant recognition precisely because they fill this crucial gap through a self-funded model, allowing us to maintain excellence while serving populations that fall outside traditional aid frameworks. This approach has also enabled us to hire dozens of full-time team members—including session leaders with graduate degrees from top political science universities worldwide.
Executive Director, Global Youth Excellence
and Leadership (GYEL) Program
Recognizing the need for a more sustainable operational framework, our Coalition Partners to the UN took inspiration from successful models such as Model United Nations, which has thrived through participant funding. Programs like GYEL and Model UN have gained significant recognition precisely because they fill this crucial gap through a self-funded model, allowing us to maintain excellence while serving populations that fall outside traditional aid frameworks. This approach has also enabled us to hire a full-time Executive Team, full-time and part-time Instructors with graduate degrees from top political science universities worldwide with a focus and passion for the United Nations initiatives.
This model has enabled us to sustainably fulfill our mission of providing resources with generous financial support to promising students in need, while other families contribute their equitable share. With ongoing support from families who share administrative costs, dedicated United Nations stakeholders, and international partners, we can build a legacy of leadership that transcends socioeconomic boundaries.
For families among the world’s wealthiest 1% of highest-income families (those earning $200,000+ annually), we ask that they contribute their equitable share of administrative costs. Thus, we can sustainably provide substantial need-based assistance and subsidies to households earning under $200,000 annually—a generous threshold established by our UN stakeholders. This equitable structure ensures that promising students from all backgrounds can access our program while maintaining our standard of excellence and sustainability.
Through this carefully calibrated approach, we have created a framework that enables our program to remain available not just for years but for decades, ensuring that no student is deprived of this exceptional opportunity due to global pandemics, external world events, or economic fluctuations.
GYEL maintains a deliberate focus on identifying high-achieving students who demonstrate exceptional promise and exponentially growing their potential by providing education, intensive mentorship, direct engagement with U.N. frameworks and officials, and practical leadership knowledge that prepares them for success at the highest level of educational institutions and furthermore in their careers.
Today, GYEL stands as a testament to the power of targeted youth leadership development.
Through our balanced approach to programming and funding, we unite a diverse community of future leaders driven to shape a more sustainable, equitable, and peaceful world. We believe that while talent knows no socioeconomic boundaries, opportunity too often does.