A key part of the mission of the Youth Advocacy and Involvement Office is to provide our state’s youth with quality service learning opportunities that prepare them for leadership roles. We were proud this week to feature the accomplishments of three recent program participants who joined us for a segment of OPEN/net.
Alyssa Egel-Johnson, a junior at Green Hope High School in Cary, DeWarren Langley, who attends NC Central University Law School, and Caroline Yarnell, a senior at Carrboro High School, eloquently described their positive experiences with our signature programs: State Youth Council, Youth Legislative Assembly, Students Against Destructive Decisions, and the State Government Internship Program.
It was gratifying to hear how each student’s experience had changed his or her life and helped them develop important life skills, including confident public speaking. They spoke with passion and commitment about feeling empowered to help solve problems facing young people – instead of relying upon adults to do this for them.
They also talked about taking responsibility for school- or community-based projects (everything from writing grant proposals to managing budgets and producing results), the networking opportunities to work with other motivated students, and the discovery of diverse employment opportunities within state government.
We often hear from successful individuals in both the public and private sectors who remember their roles as youth legislators or summer interns with not just fondness but a real belief that these experiences helped shaped their adult lives. We value this endorsement and pledge to continue offering North Carolina youth opportunities to find their voice and build bright futures.