BREWER – This spring 31 students from all over Maine will attend the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., designed to instill congressional leadership skills in youth from across the country.

One student is Brewer High School senior Mark Surette, who returned from a weeklong conference Feb. 15.

“It was worth it just for the experiences,” he said. “Just for the leadership skills. It was definitely worth the time down there.”

Students involved in the conference are put through a variety of tasks that simulate positions congressional leaders are often placed in, and they are also schooled in formulating a new piece of legislation.

“We worked through problems ourselves,” Surette said. “There were different roles assigned to each person. We’d spend the night before preparing to try and make this as realistic as possible.”

The National Youth Leaders Conference is sponsored by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council, a nonprofit, nonpartisan and educational organization founded in 1985. The council is dedicated to “fostering and inspiring young people to achieve their full leadership potential.”

The program offers high school juniors and seniors with at least a B-plus grade point average the opportunity to “discuss current events and issues with top policymakers in Washington, D.C., analyze concepts and then put them immediately to work.”

“He met Senator Susan Collins and was on [the set of] CNN’s ‘Crossfire,'” said Mark’s father, Bob Surette. “He also got to see the representatives on the House floor and the Library of Congress.”

There are eight six-day spring sessions and 17 sessions altogether throughout the year. During the summer there are eight 11-day sessions.

Maine students who were at the conference and scheduled to return yesterday included Melissa Desjardins, Berwick; Lucy Wachman, Elliot; Dan Hoffman, Lebanon; and Christa Carlson and Sarah Hotham, both of New Gloucester.

Amy Shaw, Portland; Neil Attfield and Rania Campbell-Cobb, both of South Portland; Jennifer Hatch, Whitefield; Catherine Wagner, Lyman; Brittney Holtby, Lebanon; Kate Robinson, Gorham; Maggie Defanti, Kennebunk; Sophie Gardner, Lindsay Chard and Ruby Parker, all of Portland; Sonja Stanley, Milbridge; Bianca Langley, Presque Isle; and Surette, returned on Feb. 15 or Feb. 22.

Portland students Rory Beard, Zoe Beaulieu, Matt Hight and Brittany Randall will attend conferences in March along with Sarah Coonradt and Heather Martin, both of Richmond; Evan Anderson, Berwick; and Carolina Hayes from Kennebunk.

April students include Christina Knight, Richmond; Cassandra Henri, Lebanon; Robert Richard, Westbrook and Gillian Gelder of Presque Isle.

Surette, who was nominated by Brewer outdoor education and health teacher Cindy McLaughlin, said he’s not sure if he’ll become a politician in the future but added the possibility is there. He also said he’d like to be active in creating “the rules that are made.”

To find out more about the conferences, call 202-638-0009 or check out the Congressional Youth Leadership Council Web site at www.cylc.org.