Sincere Grider of Eureka has participated in youth leadership workshops. A favorite memory, she said, was the worship service at the Lincoln Memorial that’s held at each TeenPact Leadership Summit. (Provided photos)

For Sincere Grider, education has never been just about textbooks and grades — it’s been the cornerstone of a second chance at life.

Adopted at the age of 5, unable to read or count, Grider’s journey from early challenges to academic and civic excellence has been nothing short of extraordinary.

“I believe that education is important because education is the way of the world. We need education to communicate with people,” the Eureka teen said. “Education more often than not determines your success in life.

“I have been blessed with wonderful parents (Paul and Andrea Grider) who have pushed my education to the core.”

In early June, Grider, a member of the TeenPact Leadership Schools alumni programs, attended, for a second time, the TeenPact Leadership Summit in Washington D.C. Her first foray was in 2022.

The Leadership Summit isn’t just about politics — it’s about shaping young conservatives into confident leaders. Through workshops, mentorship, and hands-on simulations, students are introduced to the foundational principles of American government, all through a Christian worldview.

During the training, participants dug into the nuts and bolts of running a campaign — from the dos and don’ts of messaging to how to energize a youth movement. It was a crash course in political strategy designed to empower the next generation.

On the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court Building

Students also got a grounding in the mechanics of government, learning the ins and outs of Robert’s Rules of Order and participating in mock legislative sessions — experience that helps them understand not just how government works, but how to step up and lead within it.

A favorite memory, she said, was the worship service at the Lincoln Memorial that’s held at each summit.

“It was nighttime and you could overlook D.C., and it was just very, very, very heartfelt. Very encouraging to be able to stand in your nation’s capital and sing praises to God,” Grider said. “I mean, not very many people get to do that.”

Grider, who was born in Peoria, also attended a clinic in Arizona with The Leadership Institute, just after her first trip to Washington.

“We were boarding the plane home when an email from the Leadership Institute landed in our inbox,” she recalled. “They were offering us a full-ride scholarship to attend a political boot camp in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“This wasn’t your average seminar, it was a full-blown political boot camp, with 14-hour days of nonstop campaign strategy that tested your stamina and your passion for politics,” she explained. “Every night came with homework, and if you passed, you’d earn a certificate to show for it.

“I went through the whole experience in Scottsdale, Arizona, and it made such an impact that I actually went back the next year.”

Grider

The home-school student is nearly finished with her high school curriculum. In the meantime, she serves as the outreach coordinator for Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA of Greater Peoria. The group formed this year in March.

“I’d been watching his videos, and I was like, ‘Mom, this guy is really awesome, I love Charlie Kirk!’” Grider said. “Then a friend said, ‘Hey, I’m opening up a chapter, would you like to join?’ That was around four months ago, and I’ve been busy ever since. My job is to get the group known.”

Grider hopes to inspire a shift in her generation by raising awareness about conservative politics and the role of government — highlighting the value it can hold for young people and encouraging them to get involved.

“It’s a slow process. A lot of young people are doing it, but we can’t do it by ourselves. It’s gonna take a lot to get our nation turned around, and more people involved in getting young people into this,” she said. “It’s pounded into their brains in public schools, in high school, the woke agenda.

“I think we can stop it at a high school level. Convincing kids they don’t need to be woke.”

Alongside her ongoing grassroots involvement in conservative causes, Grider plans to begin her studies at Hillsdale College in Michigan, with the goal of eventually transferring to a four-year university to pursue a degree in criminal justice.

“Criminal justice focuses more on the legal side, things like becoming a prosecutor and holding people accountable under the law,” Grider said. “I think we’re seeing too many rogue prosecutors not doing their jobs, and that’s why it’s so important to get more young people involved in the system.”