I have seen YAC in the newspaper for the community services that they did/done for Marshall, and I saw the YACkers in the Marshall Christmas parade last year. I am interested in joining YAC because I have always wanted to do stuff to help my community before I graduate, and I thought what better way than to join the Youth Advisory Council. The qualities that I would bring would be that I am a hard worker, and whenever a task is given to me, I want to do it as efficient and quickly as possible. I also work with others very well, creating bonds and relationships with people by finding out what they value and listen to their ideas that they have. I'm also willing to put myself out there in the public eye to represent Marshall to my best ability, whether that's participating in community service, or presenting something to the public.

Community service, to me, gives me a way to give back to the community that I grew up in. I've lived in Marshall all my life, and there has been some problems that have occurred in this community. Especially during Covid, the world went through a rough time, but food drives were put together to help out families and people who were affected by Covid. This made me think that I should try and help my community out, because I have been very fortunate with my life, and I know there are those that haven't been as fortunate, so the least I can do is to try and help them out to the best of my ability. How community service has effected me is that I have participated in the can food drives at my school during the holidays. I know that it may just be some food to some people, but also it helps out so much more than people know. It is the least I can do, and I want to do so much more in the months to come to help others out.

One issue that I feel YAC could help others out with is the issue of vaping/e-cigarettes. The first step to this concern is for the group (YAC) to understand the topic and why vaping is a concern in the community. Then, once we understand it, a plan can be put into place. One step is that we can go to schools, especially elementary, and educate the kids on why vaping is bad for you and the long term side effects of it. We can team up with the higher authorities, like the police and doctors, so that they can help the cause and the kids would have other sources to listen to. With the middle schoolers and high schoolers, we can hold driving simulators so that the kids and see how dangerous being high while driving can be, along with the police officers and doctors to help explain the side effects. Doctors would help the cause by explaining what vaping can do to your health, especially later in your life. The police officers would explain why it is illegal and what laws you can break with vaping. We can create a slideshow for the presentations with facts and some other examples of people on why you shouldn't vape. Another step is that we could help as much as we can those who do vape currently, by giving them motivation to stop and help them during the process of quitting, or doing a fundraiser to donate to a charity to help people not only in Marshall, but around the world, to stop smoking. The main concern is the youth, because you can't get addicted to something you never try at all. If we can effectively create this plan and follow through with it, I do believe that we can help increase the awareness of kids and teens of all ages to either quit doing it, or help educate them so they never do it.

I will make sure that YAC is something that I incorporate into my everyday life in some shape or form. Whether that is thinking of ideas in my free time and writing them down for me to remember. Also, to become more part of my community, being Marshall, and maybe experiencing or seeing these problems first hand so then I have a good idea of where to start in helping the problem or cause at hand. During the summer, I do have a job, but I won't let that interfere with YAC participation to the best of my ability. During the school year, I do prioritize my schooling and grades a lot, but that will not interfere with my participation. The only thing that will interfere with my YAC participation is that I do three sports during the schoolyear, one for each season, so that would be the only thing that would interfere with my participation. Other than that, YAC would be something that I would look forward to because it helps my community and gives me a way to give back in some shape or form.

No, this is my first time applying to YAC.