Senior Noah Henderson was chosen to be interviewed live at the Beyond School Bells Innovation Invitational in Lincoln on March 5.

Henderson was one of hundreds of videoed interviews of student after-school staff that were sent in for the invitational, but he alone was chosen to be interviewed live for the event.

Henderson has been involved with Kids Club as both a child participant, and now a staff member of the after-school program.

“It’s near and dear to my heart, because I was one of those little kids and now that I’m older, I can be an inspiration and role model,” Henderson said.

Kids Klub director Carrie Lienemann has known Henderson since he was a kid in the program

“We got to see him really blossom as a child who was very timid when he joined Kids Kiub, being mentored by some of our older high school and college age staff,” Lienemann said. “Then, seeing him grow as a person who wanted to come back to come and give that back to our kids was very heartwarming. It came back around full-circle.”

After recording mini-documentaries about their work experience, Henderson was selected to speak. He was then interviewed in front of 150 Nebraska after-school professionals and partners about his experience.

Lienemann was the interviewer of Henderson at this event, where they discussed the impact of their program and after-school programs in general.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the way our program has been accepted into our schools and our community,” Lienemann said. “The growth of our staff and students is indescribable-just so, so cool.”

Henderson was also able to talk about why Kids Klub is important to him.

“I think it’s important for students to be in after-school (programs), because it really helps them build social skills, make new friends and see their friends that they don’t get to see because they are in the other classroom,” Henderson said.