BEAVERTON -- At 4 a.m., seven teenagers from

hopped in to a Plymouth Grand Voyager for a road trip.

Singing Lady Gaga songs in the van and battling the on-and-off rain, it took them four hours to make their way from the small central coast town of

to the shiny world headquarters of

near Beaverton.

The Tiger Woods Center hosted about 400 students Thursday at the 9th annual Nike Youth Forum. It was a daylong conference for students in gay-straight alliance clubs from high schools across Oregon and southwest Washington.

The event is organized by the

and members of

.

"It's really beautiful here," said Josie Bergman, founder and president of the Gay-Straight Alliance club at Siuslaw High.

The 16-year-old sophomore, who identifies as a straight alliance, is the daughter of a lesbian. She said she pushed for the club in the face of adult opposition in her

. The school confirmed it opened this semester in January.

"(They) told me there's no gay people in Florence," Bergman said. "Seeing everyone (here) from all the different places, I know I'm not the only person doing this, trying to earn acceptance."

Carrie Riggs, the partner of Bergman's biological mother, served as the chaperone and driver for the students.

"In a small town, it's like there's no major diversity and (the kids) come here to learn and network," said Riggs, 33. "You don't get that at a small town."

This year's event was the largest ever and included nearly 30 schools. Portland Public's

brought one of the largest groups, with 21 students who came together on the MAX train.

"It's nice to be in an environment where no one's saying you can't," said Bella Feldhaus, 16.

She added: "We are very lucky, and sometimes take it for granted, 'cause our school is a really accepting environment."

The event featured

, Olympic gold medalist in 1976. Best known to the crowd of youngsters as celebrity Kim Kardashian's step-father, Jenner talked about overcoming struggles at school because of dyslexia to become a record-breaking athlete.

"Our true destiny in life is determined by the concrete decisions we make in life," Jenner said in his keynote speech.

Jenner also participated on a panel discussion featuring Nike employees. Also on the panel was Paul Tew, the retail apparel giant's category creative director for young athletes.

Tew, who identifies as gay, told a story of his biggest tormentor in school who later attempted suicide. He said becoming empathetic to his bully gave him perspective.

"He was sad, too," said Tew, 41. "It made me realize I don't have it the worst."

About 70 Nike employees volunteered at the event and the network has hundreds of members globally. The youth forum is one of four major events they host each year in Oregon, according to Anna DeMaris, who works in IT for Nike.

"We try to hit on so many topics that will educate our youth so that they'll make the decisions and become strong people," she said.

During the forum,

, 48, also won an Angel award from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network for bringing gay-straight alliance clubs to middle schools. Corbin is a counselor at

in Vancouver, Wash. and said all secondary schools should have a club.

"All I have to do is look in the faces of the kids. It's empowering for a lot of these kids that the message is not 'We're tolerating you,' but that it's 'We're celebrating you.'"

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