Youth Advisory Council
| Date | June 8, 2025 |
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| 1. How did you hear about YAC and why are you interested in joining? What specific qualities would you bring to the council? | 1. I heard Yac through friends and instagram and people telling me I should join this. I think I would bring a new perspective and a positive attitude to the group. I am very responsible and have a great amount of integrity. I have a very strong motive to help those in need. I would be a great contribution to the Youth Advisory Council. |
| 2. What does community service mean to you and how have you been impacted by community service? | 1. Community service is a big contributor as it brings community closer and a step closer to greater things. If not for people taking the initiative to help people in need, nothing will change. Community is not just a group of people but a second family, one that look out for each other. And community service is doing just that. Community service has impacted me when my mom died a decade ago, the community really helped my dad get back on his feet especially with my church. People really took the initiative to look out for my family. |
| 3. YAC has identified the following youth issues as concerns in our community: (a) Academic pressure, (b) Mental health, (c) Vaping/e-cigarettes. Choose one of the issues. Discuss steps you would recommend taking to address the concern. *Write a minimum of 200 words | 1. Mental health is a major concern in this day and age of the community. Mental health is a struggle like any of other illnesses. Yet the society looks at mental illness as a “danger” and “violent”. This mindset tends to push people away from getting help. When someone who has cancer, many people are supportive, yet when someone with schizophrenia, it would be look at as crazy. As well as stereotypes of military veterans and their PTSD, with many people would not date them because of their “violent ways”. The stigma surrounding mental health plays a significant amount of people not being able to step out for help. The community has to be able to let it be known it’s okay to struggle with mental health. To not judge them, yet accept them for who they are. Pushing the norm of “fixing them” is not the solution. Breaking down stigma is a step to bring awareness to mental health and normalize this illness. A way to push this narrative it to have open fundraisers such as a races for mental health. Another boost would be to change the norm on social media to change mental illness mindset and introduce mental illness as a struggle that isn’t dangerous. Instead as normal illness. A mental health hotline meant for anyone struggling could be a possibility to bring into Albion and Marshall. This would in courage people to talk to someone about their feelings and just someone to support them. The main way we can help improve mental health is through interactions in daily life. If that’s through work, school, or even your home. Spreading mental health awareness will go long ways. The more we say something, the more comfortable people will be to be able to reach out. A famous Jewish scholar once said "If not you, then who?". Let that sink in. |
| 4. If accepted to YAC, how will you prioritize your commitment to the organization? What extra-curricular events/activities might interfere with your YAC participation? | If accepted, extra curricular activities might interfere may be church, basketball, work, and NHS. It may interfere but I plan on making sure it won’t my work is very flexible as I choose the days I work. Basketball may be a difficultly but I should be available most of the time. Church is only a problem a few time out of the year. I will plan out to make sure NHS and YAC won’t interfere with each other. I will make sure I put time away for YAC. |
| 5. Have you applied for YAC membership in the past? If so, when? | No, I have not.1 |