Miller YnG inspires California’s future leaders
When the sound of the gavel hits the podium, delegates find their seats and the initiation of the meeting is called to order. The YMCA’s Miller and Youth Government is an organization that has impacted the lives of high school students for 77 years. Miller teaches students the inner workings of government through leadership and public speaking. Meetings are every Wednesday at the Art Trek, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m..
A typical meeting includes debates, news updates and bill groups. Bill groups are where delegates propose and discuss bills The officers construct the meetings to be as interactive as possible by prioritizing full participation from delegates.
Taking a part in Miller and Youth prepares young leaders, like Eiliyah Ahmed, junior and Miller and Youth historian, for real-world experiences outside of high school. “Being able to run meetings and learning how to get people engaged, but also have them learning at the same time, is something I believe is very valuable and an important life skill to have going into college and future jobs,” Ahmed said.
People join Miller and Youth for many reasons, and Isabella Lewis, senior, joined because Ahmed invited her to a meeting last year. “Before Miller Y&G I was really shy and didn’t like public speaking but now I’ve learned to be more outgoing and speak in front of others without being scared. It has further taught me a lot about responsibility,” Lewis said.
As Lewis enters her second and final year in this program, she has taken on greater responsibility by joining the board of officers as secretary. “I think our success plan this year for Miller is for everyone in the delegation to develop their speaking and people skills for Sacramento and to get everyone engaged in the meetings. We want everyone to enjoy themselves,” Lewis said.
Miller Youth and Government grants its delegates unique opportunities to demonstrate their public speaking skills, and Lauren Cary, senior and the delegation’s president, has been able to meet hundreds of students from different schools within her four years in this program.“My favorite event is definitely going to Sacramento because everything you have been working to in this program finally comes together at Sacramento. It is also just so much fun exploring Sacramento without any parental supervision,” Cary said.
Following in her older brother’s footsteps, Ahmed is planning on spending every year of her high school experience as a part of the Miller and Youth family. “We want everybody in Miller to fully experience what Youth and Government is. Youth and Government is a program where you really get out what you put into it, so the goal is to get people super engaged and constantly wanting to be involved in more,” Ahmed said.
