NRA Youth Education Conference 2025 Offers Academic Grants, Leadership Insights
NRA Youth Education Summit 2025 Concludes Successfully in Washington, D.C.
The 2025 NRA Youth Education Summit (Y.E.S.) recently took place in Washington, D.C., providing a unique opportunity for rising juniors and seniors to immerse themselves in a week of learning experiences. The summit, funded in part by The NRA Foundation, was a resounding success, with over $32,000 in scholarships awarded to 14 deserving students.
The event kicked off with a formal awards dinner, where Tom DeBolt, CEO of Benelli USA, served as the keynote speaker. During the dinner, scholarships worth $1,000 each were presented to Julian F. from Ohio, Colton G. from Minnesota, Aydri R. from Indiana, Kolin R. from Utah, Justice S. from Oregon, and Campbell B. from Texas. Additionally, Jacob S. from Rhode Island and Elie A. from Virginia received scholarships worth $2,000 each, while Sam P. from Maine and Mary C. from Washington were honoured with $4,000 scholarships each.
Throughout the week, students visited historical and symbolic sites such as Capitol Hill, George Washington's Mount Vernon, the National Archives Museum, the National Museum of the United States Army, and Arlington National Cemetery. At Arlington National Cemetery, students participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Activities during the summit included a guided tour of the NRA National Firearms Museum, a question-and-answer session with NRA leadership, a mock Friends of NRA event, and live-fire opportunities on the NRA Range. A signature component of Y.E.S. is the mock debate series, where students research, prepare, and refine their arguments. Participants in the debate series were evaluated on their performance, leadership, collaboration, and engagement.
The summit focused on leadership development, civic engagement, and education on American history and government. Students had the opportunity to learn from industry leaders and engage in discussions about important topics. The week concluded with the awarding of $20,000 in End-of-Week Scholarships to 10 students.
The 2026 edition of the NRA Youth Education Summit is already planned for July 2026, sponsored by the Friends of NRA organization. However, no specific title sponsor for this particular event in 2026 has been explicitly mentioned. The Friends of NRA commonly serves as sponsors of NRA community and youth-related events. Applications for the 2026 Youth Education Summit will open in Fall 2025.
For more information or to apply for the NRA Youth Education Summit, visit yes.nra.org.
