Every year, we watch something happen at the Empire Promise Youth Summit that's hard to put into words. Kids walk in a little unsure of themselves, and three days later, they walk out standing taller. This year was no exception — and honestly, it might be one of the best examples yet of why we do this work.
From April 28–30, 2026, students from Liberty Partnerships Programs across New York State came together for the 22nd Annual Empire Promise Youth Summit: Survivor: Rise of the Heroes and the Power Within. The theme asked students to rethink what power really means. Not super strength. Not flight. Just courage, resilience, and the willingness to stand up for what's right — especially when it's hard.
Students spent the summit in tribes, each one channeling a different hero — Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Captain America — through a full slate of Hero Academy challenges. They tracked down a "taken" teammate in Wolverine's survival mission. They decoded hidden messages and delivered "Truth Drops" as Black Widow's secret agents. They pushed through an outdoor obstacle course built on unity and trust, Captain America style. They leaned into what makes them different in Ms. Marvel's identity workshop. And they adapted on the fly when Spider-Man's challenges kept changing the rules mid-game.
None of these were just games. Each one was built to put students in a situation where the "easy" thing and the "right" thing weren't the same — and to let them practice choosing the right one, together.
That thread carried into the Heroes Quest, the multi-month challenge that led up to the summit. Long before they ever set foot in a tribe, students had already been doing the quiet, unglamorous work of becoming heroes: a 48-hour digital detox, daily gratitude, a 21-day wellness challenge. One student was honored with a $1,000 prize for standing out in perseverance and growth, but every single student who finished the Quest was celebrated for it.
And then there was "Everyday People," the statewide music video made by LPP students from across New York, which kicked off this year's Hero theme with a simple reminder: you don't need a cape to be a hero. You just need to show up.
Through it all, students had a full support system behind them — the Green Capes team offering a place to land when things felt like too much, and a security team making sure every tribe could take risks in a space that felt safe.
At the end of the summit, we asked students one question: What does it mean to be a "true hero"?
We weren't prepared for how honest — and how beautiful — the answers would be. Reading through them, you can see the whole theme of the weekend reflected right back at us, in their own words:
"Being a true hero means finding success in your failures, and being able to persevere through any obstacle you encounter."
"Being a true hero feels scary, but you choose to be brave anyway. It means putting others before yourself even when it hurts. Sometimes it feels lonely because no one understands the sacrifices you make. A true hero carries pain and fear but still keeps going to help others. In the end, being a hero means having the strength to do what is right no matter how hard it is."
"A true hero is a person who can help others and be able to help themselves in tough situations."
"To be a true hero means to be very adaptable, being able to respectfully work with other people to get the job done, and to trust yourself and other people."
"Heroes serve, assist in moments of despair and they remind us to be good to one another. Heroes are not driven by accolades but their work is hard to ignore. Heroes are selfless and embrace the responsibility that comes with bringing light to dark places."
"To be a true hero is to be someone who acts with others' interest in mind, trying to make the world better for the people around them and never giving up."
"Being a true hero is to put others before yourself for the right reasons. To be able to use your voice for good and listen to your peers."
"We hold everyone on our backs and everyone holds us on theirs."
"Being a true hero isn't really about fame, powers, or big dramatic moments — it's about character and choices, especially when it's hard, and people that take responsibility for their actions."
"I think what it means to be a true hero is to show up for others when they need you, be there for people, and to be a listening ear for people when they need it."
Some answers were only a sentence. Others were paragraphs. But nearly every single one circled back to the same handful of ideas: showing up, standing up, and putting your team before yourself. Nobody wrote about capes or powers. They wrote about the people in their lives — friends, teammates, siblings, strangers — and what they owe each other.
The Final Tribal Council closed out the summit, but if you ask us, the real "final tribal council" happened in these survey responses. This is what the whole weekend was building toward — not just a themed set of challenges, but a chance for students to sit with a question most adults still struggle to answer, and come up with something true.
Every year we tell students they're already heroes. This year, they told us exactly what that means.
Missed last year's summit? Take a look back at Survivor: Inside Out, the 2025 Empire Promise Youth Summit.