FSY (For the Strength of Youth) is youth conferences hosted and run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These week-long conferences are meant for the youth, ages 13 to 18, and held at college campuses across the United States.

“FSY conferences are designed to help you have fun as you apply the gospel in all aspects of your life. At FSY, you will participate in five days of devotionals, classes, and activities which will help you strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ and feel joy and belonging as you live the gospel,” the Church website reads.

College students have the opportunity to spend a few weeks working as FSY counselors. Several BYU-Idaho students who worked at FSY in the past share their experiences.

After FSY

“FSY is a really good way to continue growing the youth," said freshman and social work major Bryce Fisher. "The way I am is I love to help people as much as I can, so I was like, ‘This is a really good way to just continue testifying of Jesus Christ outside of the mission.’”

Fisher worked as an FSY counselor the summer 2025. He did training in Orem, Utah, and worked in Fort Collins, Colorado; San Antonio, Texas; Ephraim, Logan and Provo, Utah.

Fisher started working as an FSY counselor a week after he got home from his mission in Boise. He decided to work as a counselor because he wanted to "constantly testify" of Christ.

“That’s your whole purpose, is testifying of the Savior and just being surrounded by other people that have similar thoughts and interests and other counselors that agree and want to continue to strengthen each other," Fisher said.

Hannah Hunt, a junior and marriage studies major attended FSY (at the time, EFY, Especially For Youth) and spoke of her counselor as an influence.

“My counselor…made such a difference in me and my life and my testimony and helped me really understand things about the gospel that I hadn't before,” Hunt said. “She’s a big reason why I even ended up in Rexburg.”

She later worked at FSY as a counselor during the summer 2025.

Sam Robinson, a junior and virtual design and construction major, was an FSY counselor of summer 2024. He decided to go because at the time, he felt "unsure" of what he wanted to do in school.

“I thought it was going to be a nice little break, have a six-week spiritual experience, [and] feel the spirit [and] get a better testimony,” Robinson said. “It was a good time to just take a break in the spring semester and move away."

What to expect

Fisher explained what to expect as an FSY counselor. For the first week, counselors meet on campus in Orem or Provo for training. Fisher said this was just like FSY itself, but just for counselors. That first week consists of training on how to teach the youth and safety procedures.

After that first week, counselors go to their assignments, spending a week at each location. Hunt trained in Provo and worked in Pocatello, Idaho; Ephraim, Utah; College Station, Texas; and Tacoma, Washington. Robinson also trained in Provo and worked in Logan and Salt Lake City, Utah; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Denton, Texas.

The Church pays for transportation. Counselors will have time on Saturday before they travel to their next location. They also only allow counselors to work up to four consecutive weeks before they have to take a week-long break.

Fisher said that he loved his time as an FSY counselor but pointed out how exhausting it was.

“You’re constantly on the go, like 24/7,” Fisher said. “You’re not allowed to go to sleep until the kids are for sure asleep, and you have to wake up for morning meetings before the kids get up as well. Sleep is pretty minimal, and you’re kind of the person that has to run on energy, you’re the one that gets the energy going for the kids.”

Fisher pointed out that counselors get $800 a week. Assistant coordinators and wellness coordinators get $900 a week and session coordinators get $1,100 a week.

According to Robinson, the pay isn't what makes it important.

“The pay seems really nice up until you’re working 50 hours a week, you’re up at 6 a.m. and you don’t go to bed until midnight, and the whole time you’re working,” Robinson said. “The pay is cool, but I think the real rewarding part was feeling the spirit [and] just seeing all the testimonies.”

Robinson pointed out that the work isn't easy, but it is worth it.

“There’s gonna be weeks that you feel like you’re just getting dragged through the dirt but then, there’s gonna be a reason for that,” Robinson said. “There’s ups and downs, but the lower the low, I feel like the higher the high. I think you just gotta ride it out.”

Fisher agreed, and compared working as an FSY counselor to serving a mission. He said he especially felt that when it ended and he gave his final testimony.

“At FSY, the Savior’s there, 100%, all summer, and you get to experience that as a counselor 24/7,” Fisher said. “It’s great for the youth, but the counselor is there more than one week. It’s amazing, you get it all the way through.

What FSY looks like

Fisher said that FSY counselors start the day early. They stay in dorms on the host college campuses with the youth in a group consisting of two counselors--a male and female--to act as group leaders. After morning scripture studies and breakfast, the group has devotionals, classes taught by local leaders and activities. These activities include game nights, dances, music and a talent show.

“All these things are gauged towards fun, so there’s a lot of fun and camaraderie with these youth,” Fisher said.

Robinson said that the spiritual aspect is really what makes FSY so rewarding.

“Throughout the week, you just get kind of worn out just being up that long with a bunch of kids," Robinson said. "But I think class days on Tuesdays and Wednesdays are probably some [of the] more rewarding days.”

Fisher said that despite being exhausted, he had a lot of fun each week.

“There were some weeks where you get to the dance at the end of the week and you are exhausted, but somehow you have the strength to just keep dancing and keep having fun,” Fisher said.

Working with the youth

Moving around to different campuses in different states for FSY means that counselors will be interacting with a lot of different people over the weeks. Hunt said she had non-member youth who were there with their friends. She also had youth get their missions calls while at FSY, and sometimes would run into them later on while giving missionary training center tours for her group in Provo.

Hunt also shared one experience when she was in Pocatello. One of the kids had a hard time fitting in, but as she worked with and prayed for the youth, she was able to see him finally be able to socialize with the rest of the group.

“Getting to see his progression throughout the week where he started to feel like he belonged in the company,” Hunt said. “I remember when I was praying for him, just feeling the spirit so strongly, bearing witness to me of his divine potential and who he was, and just that he belonged in our company, and getting to experience that too was really special for me.”

Robinson was only 19 when he started, so he wasn't much older than many of the youth. He remembered thinking that the kids were going to tear him apart, but he soon learned to just be their friends.

"They’re not necessarily looking for another teacher to berate them with a bunch of stuff to do or chastise them for doing something wrong," Robinson said. "You gotta be more of a friend."

Robinson said that when he was in Colorado, his group had a bunch of "rowdy" kids from Wyoming.

“This week started off bad,” Robinson said. “We were struggling to keep them quiet in classes, we couldn’t keep them together, we lost a couple of them a couple times.”

According to Robinson, the group was able to find unity during Wednesday game night and the Thursday testimony meeting.

“They bore their testimonies, and it was the most tender moment of my life just seeing those kids bear their testimony and breaking down,” Robinson said. “It felt like, in that moment, I finally found the real reward of FSY, seeing a kid come in that didn’t want to be there, and then ending up with a crazy good experience.”

Robinson mentioned the "stigma" of kids not having good testimonies. From his experience at FSY, Robinson said that was not the case.

"I felt like going to FSY, I saw a more raw testimony from kids,” Robinson said. “It helped me feel the spirit personally, just seeing the simplicities that they know. They were just focused on the Celestial Kingdom.”

Working with the youth can be challenging, but it is possible. When Fisher was training, Bradley R. Wilcox of the Young Men General Presidency visited and shared advice on working with youth. He took that advice and aspired to follow it as he worked at FSY.

“He said, ‘when you’re having some tough youth, just look at their eyes,’” Fisher said. “I was able to use that a lot because when I had those tough youth, it was hard to see past those problems. But if you just look at their eyes, you see who they are, and just try to understand who they are and help them on their level. Find out who they are and what they need.”

Advice for new counselors

As for advice, Fisher suggested that counselors take frequent breaks.

“Take those breaks, take a nap if you need to,” Fisher said. “But no matter what, it’s the most fulfilling thing. Just as exhausting as it is, it’s just as fulfilling. And the Lord provides.”

Hunt also advises people to stay in tune with their spiritual side.

“Pray all the time before you get there, and pray all the time when you’re there,” Hunt said. “FSY is such a spiritual and Christ-led program, and being in tune with the spirit is really important to being a successful FSY counselor.”

Hunt said she learned that God is aware of her and those she worked with. Despite the inconveniences and frustrations, things ended up working out in the end.

“God is in the details,” Hunt said. “I really struggle with patience, it is one of my weaknesses for sure, and I just like knowing what’s happening and when it’s gonna happen. But for me to just see everything work out the way it needed to perfectly, and be able to figure out how God needed everything to happen.”

FSY benefits more than just the youth. Counselors who help run FSY over the summer can also find ways to grow their testimonies in Jesus Christ and gain vital work experiences.

“The Lord is always there no matter what,” Fisher said. “So that’s something that I learned a lot, is that I am more than I know, and I can accomplish more than I know.”