What’s Learned Here, Leaves Here: A MAP Fellow on ULRI’s Youth Advisory Council

Erica Middleton, MAP Fellow with the Institute for Research Experiences & Education, reflects on her fellowship and what she gained while working with the inaugural Youth Advisory Council. 

I was once told, “What happens here, stays here, but what’s learned here, leaves here.” That thought has stayed with me throughout my MAP Fellowship with UL Research Institutes’ Institute for Research Experiences & Education. 

The MAP Fellowship, led by the Morgridge Family Foundation, is a six-month leadership experience that offers rising professionals the opportunity to take on real-world challenges with the guidance of an accomplished nonprofit leader. My task was to bring a fresh perspective, strategic thinking, and meaningful solutions to the Institute for Research Experiences & Education — helping launch the institute’s first Youth Advisory Council. 

From March to September, I had the chance to cofacilitate the inaugural Youth Advisory Council with TreShai Hubbard, project coordinator with the institute. When the members began meeting in May, there was no established playbook. There was a vision, a project brief, and six young people eager to figure out what the council could become. 

Then — they built it together. The members shaped the council’s mission and values, defined leadership roles that reflected what they needed, created a constitution and bylaws to guide their work, and began outlining plans for recruitment and community engagement so the council can grow in a sustainable way. 

I’m grateful I got to watch this creation process up close. During ULRI’s 2026 Annual Research Symposium, I saw council members who once felt unsure in a room full of researchers and senior leaders moderate an impactful panel, introduce keynote and plenary speakers, lead breakout sessions, and serve as room captains. They weren’t passive participants — they were leading conversations about what safety science means to them. 

That shifted something for me. Through the curiosity and lived experiences of the Youth Advisory Council members, I began to see how safety science connects to the way people actually live. This fellowship gave me space to make that connection for myself, and I’m leaving with a deeper and more genuine understanding of ULRI’s impact. 

I’m grateful to my mentor, Nyla McFadden, the institute’s education programs manager, for giving me room to explore and build, and to everyone on the team in the Institute for Research Experiences & Education. The Youth Advisory Council is still bringing all the pieces together, but I believe these six young leaders have already created a foundation worth building on. 

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