The Trail of Courage Youth Development Program is an immersive discovery experience for teens and young adults to explore and reflect on their path to personal growth, leadership development, and college and career readiness.
Engaging Students Through Self-Reflection and Experiential Learning
The program includes a Facilitator Resource Guide for mentors, coaches, teachers, and parents and features 40+ engaging activities that introduce core skills to help prepare students for college, career, and life. Activities are flexible, can be completed in any order, and average 15 minutes each.
Who It’s For
Students Grades 8-12
Youth Groups and Clubs
Homeschoolers
College Students
Young Professionals
Flexible Delivery Options
Classroom and Online
One-on-One Coaching
Small Group Workshops
Large Group Retreats
WHY NOW?
High school education is lacking curriculum that develops human skills needed to succeed in college, career, and life.
- 75% of college faculty report that incoming students are less prepared.
- 84% of hiring managers say most high school graduates aren’t ready for work.
- 87% of teens say they have concerns about mental health.
- 56% of teens feel too embarrassed to ask for help with mental health concerns.
The Trail of Courage program introduces teens and young adults to core skills that colleges and employers demand.
- 75% of employees agree that Purpose helps keep teams aligned and working together.
- Problem Solving was cited by 77% of employers as one of the highest-demand skills.
- Communication was listed as the most requested soft skill in nearly 2 million job postings in 2025.
- Self-Awareness is linked to better mental health and stress outcomes.
- Collaboration and Teamwork was cited by 78% of employers as a top trait they seek.
- Only 19% of U.S. workers are considered Very Resilient and able to effectively manage stress.
TRAIL OF COURAGE MODULES
| Purpose, Values, and Goal Setting Discover your “why”. Create empowering values. Learn how to use goals to build your best future. | Self-Awareness Share your story. Discover your superpowers. Leverage your emotions to take action. |
| Communications To be understood, you must first seek to understand others. Learn to listen deeply and ask good questions. | Connection Build meaningful and genuine relationships. Work with others to find common goals and share success. |
| Problem Solving Use creative thinking skills to define problems, innovate solutions, and inspire action. | Mindfulness Explore tools to help you focus and live in the present. The past is behind us. The future is not yet here. Find joy in the now. |
| Resilience Things happen in life that we can’t control. Find meaning in your life experience—you get to decide what happens next. | Service The greatest joy in life is giving of self without expecting anything in return. Use your gifts to help others. |
About the Author and Facilitator
Al Renshaw co-founded the Logan’s Love Foundation with his wife Helen and son Cayden in memory of his daughter Logan who wanted to be a teacher before her untimely passing at age 20. The Trail of Courage program is a way for him to honor Logan, give back, and help teens and young adults build core life, leadership, and career skills.
Al is a youth advocate, mentor, and facilitator with over 25 years of experience in higher education, leadership development, and executive learning. He is the former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at AACSB where he led global strategy, advocacy, marketing, and thought leadership for the world’s largest association of business schools. He holds degrees in Communications and Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and is a certified LifeBound coach. He has studied and instructed martial arts for over 25 years and is a regular practitioner of yoga and meditation.
