.png?width=800&height=400&name=PHC%20(1).png "Patrick Henry College")
Jesse Castrinos was dumbstruck. A man had asked him, “What would you say to your wife if she said she wanted to get an abortion?” The man had lost his daughter to abortion, and he spoke at the Celebrate Life rally during the National Leaders Collective (NLC) kickoff weekend June 20 – 24.
The NLC is a group of student leaders from Students for Life, and this year, Castrinos and Rebecca Rose were selected to participate in a year-long fellowship through NLC. The kickoff weekend gave students an opportunity to hear from pro-life leaders and learn about different aspects of the pro-life movement.
“Being a member of the NLC is a great opportunity to get to know Students for Life staff and discern a career in the pro-life movement,” Rose said. Rose has completed NLC's fellowships for high school students and students at Christian colleges. Each year at the NLC, March for Life, and Pro-Life Summit, she reconnects with students she met at the NLC kickoff weekend in 2022. This year, she was invited to attend NLC because of her involvement with Students for Life’s SCOTUS Squad, a group of students living near D.C. who represent the pro-life generation at the Supreme Court during high-profile abortion-related cases. 
The NLC accepted Rose and Castrinos among 100 other student campus leaders. Throughout the year, they will enjoy mentorship from a leader in a national pro-life organization and access to a network of pro-life student leaders. Each fellowship meets biweekly to hear from speakers and discuss assigned readings. The kickoff weekend 
focused on training the student leaders.
“Attending the National Leaders Collective is always an encouraging time,” Rose said. “I love seeing so many students get fired up to go back to their communities and groups with new ideas.” During the weekend, they attended the National Celebrate Life rally and gala, which commemorated the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, hearing from speakers including Matt Walsh and Abby Johnson. Students also divided into breakout sessions on topics including leadership, pro-life apologetics, and sidewalk counseling. 
The most impactful talk for Castrinos was given by the man who led the discussion about how abortion affects fathers—who have no legal ability to stop an abortion. "That was really impactful to me because I started thinking in ways I had not before," Castrinos said. “Trying to run that situation through my head gave me an entirely new perspective on what it’s like for the father in that scenario.” He plans to host a session on campus discussing what it means to be a man in the pro-life movement.
Castrinos also realized the pros and cons of running a Students for Life chapter at PHC. “How many of you have experienced a violation of your 1st Amendment rights on your campus?” the NLC students were asked. Almost everyone raised their hands except Castrinos and Rose.
“In a way, we’re blessed to be at PHC and to have an administration that is very friendly towards the pro-life movement,” Castrinos said. "I think in [another] way, it also hurts us because it makes our group especially soft because we have not endured those trials. We’re not as motivated and ready to fight.” Students who do get attacked at their schools are motivated to advocate for life even more. He said that PHC’s Students for Life group might visit another college campus to support a Students for Life group facing persecution.
Overall, Rose and Castrinos came away from the NLC kickoff weekend with new ideas for PHC’s chapter. “We are excited to hit the ground running as an established group on campus and attend the activities fair to meet all of the new freshmen!” Rose said. “We have lots of ideas for events and meetings with the group and can't wait to get back on campus.”
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Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.
