Downers Grove — Students from across the 41st Senate District spent a day immersing themselves in state government as part of Illinois Senate Minority Leader John Curran’s Youth Advisory Council program in Woodridge.
“This is a great event where we have a chance to let young people not only learn about government, but to also try their hands at coming with ideas for legislation,” said Senator Curran. “It’s a great opportunity to engage high school students in the process of government and help to develop the next generation of leaders.”
The annual event welcomes high school students to learn about government and the process of crafting laws. Students begin the day by hearing from current and former legislators as well as policy advocates.
“One of the biggest things I’ve enjoyed about this opportunity so far is just getting to hear from people who have worked in government,” said Downers Grove North High School student Andie Donat. “Getting to talk to some of those people and what their journey was like, and that maybe wasn’t linear, gives me a lot of confidence in the journey that I’m going to have and that it will all work out.”
“I think this event is a really unique opportunity because we heard from different figures that are active in the state of Illinois right now, and the different jobs that they do,” said Downers Grove North High School student Andre Cheng. “I think as someone that’s most likely going into a career in politics, it’s really inspiring to hear from all of these people.”
“The speakers are great, and even if you aren’t into the politics side, it allows you to discuss a wide variety of ideas and engage in community building,” said Lyons Township High School student Ryan DiBraccio.
In the afternoon, the students were broken up into small groups with students from other schools, where they discussed their own ideas for potential new legislation. Eventually, the students presented their proposals and the entire body voted for one idea to advance. The students will meet again in the spring, where they will conduct a mock committee hearing to debate their proposed legislation.
“A lot of it includes critical thinking and just paying attention to the world right now to create bills,” said Benet Academy student Rose Deegan. “It also involves public speaking, so you have to go up and present your bill and answer questions.”
“My favorite thing about today was really getting to hear other people’s perspectives and also their journeys throughout life,” Downers Grove North High School student Sadie Johanek. “It gave me a lot of confidence moving on to my next chapter in life and college that I still have time to figure things out.”
“One thing I like about this event is that we are all coming from different schools, and we are placed with people from different schools so it was nice to see the ideas from different people, like how they see different topics,” said Hinsdale South High School student Ashley Valiathara. “I think this is a really important event, because we are talking about legislation that could be passed, and that’s something in our day and age that’s not seen that much.”
If you know of a high school student in the 41st Senate District who would be interested in taking part, please encourage them to ask their principal about the event. For further information, you can also contact Senator Curran’s district office.