Julia Roberts poses for a photo inside Vienna, Austria's city hall during the Global Young Leaders Conference that took place throughout four countries in Europe July 4-17. (Photo courtesy of Julia Roberts).

The 16-year-old Roberts, then 15, was in Europe for the Global Young Leaders Conference July 4-17.

Roberts was nominated for the conference by her calculus teacher, Jackie Pope, and was then selected by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council. The council, a nonpartisan education organization founded in 1985 in Washington, D.C., sponsors the conference.

Roberts attended the conference with 295 students representing countries from around the world, she said.

Local businesses, the Masonic Fraternity and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9723 provided the scholarships that funded her travels, she said.

"Everything was pretty rushed," Roberts said. "It was overwhelming - the thought of going to Europe - and it didn't hit me until I got there."

"GYLC is a unique leadership development program that brings together outstanding young people from around the world to build critical leadership skills in a global context," according to the Congressional Youth Leadership Council Web site.

The goal is "to give high-achieving students ages 15 to 18 a greater understanding of their roles as global ambassadors while analyzing concepts surrounding communications, diplomacy, law, human rights, peace, security, economics and the role of the United Nations," according to the council Web site.

"I had a great time talking to different people from around the globe," Roberts said. "We had amazing speakers who shed light on the difference between a 'leader' and a 'global leader.'"

One speaker, Muhammad Mesic from Bosnia, stood out most to her, she said.

Mesic, who is only 24 years old, speaks 10 languages fluently and could communicate in another 48, Roberts added.

The young speaker impressed her when he greeted students in their native tongues, Roberts said.

"The GYLC program was much more rigorous and professional than what I expected it to be," Roberts said.

Each day of the conference was scheduled; students were required to wear professional business clothing most of the time, and there were even security checks, Roberts said.

The program's motto "being on time, means being five minutes early," developed a greater sense of responsibility in the students, she added.

After the conference, Roberts then participated in a home stay program July 17-29 in Munich and Bonn, Germany.

The program allowed Roberts to stay with a German family for two weeks, where she was immersed in the culture and experienced life in Germany, Roberts said. The home stay is also a part of German-Japanese relations efforts to strengthened bonds between the countries, she added.

Professor Till Weber, a German Professor at Ryudai University on Okinawa, coordinated the two week home stay for Roberts.

"I changed so much within that month I was gone," Roberts said. "I feel more confident in what I have to do when I graduate high school."

Roberts' goal for the future is to go into a field like psychology where she can help people, and one day inspire future generations as she was by the leaders she met, she said.

"If you don't take care of yourself, you cannot take care of others," Roberts said.