Mason Youth Council advocates for student involvement in local government

Allie Keim | The Chronicle

When thinking of the City of Mason’s public servants, a group of high school students might not come to mind. The establishment of the Mason Youth Council allows for youth perspectives to be balanced with other demographics in the community.

Beginning in July 2024, Mayor Diana Nelson, City Council Member Joy Bennett and MasonVotes collaborated to create the Mason Youth Council. The council consists of high school students who applied for their position and is a fully student led group.

Mason High School (MHS) students Desika Shyam Sundar, a junior, and Sarah Wang, a sophomore, pitched the idea of the youth council to Nelson, who was inspired by the girls’ leadership. The council meets biweekly to discuss their visions for the community and talk within the committees that mirror the structure of the Mason City Council. The committees consist of Public Health, Community Engagement, Arts and Culture, Economic Opportunity and Small Business, Safety and Public Service. 

“We essentially want youth representation in the Mason City Council so that our opinions are heard too,” Shyam Sundar said. “That was sort of our starting point and then we started collaborating with MasonVotes to make sure that we could sort of get where we needed to be. Then contacted the mayor as well, so that we had a connected network to start an actual city council, like a youth version of it.”

Involving youth perspectives into the current function of the Mason City Council is an overarching goal, but the committees themselves work to focus on specific objectives within the community. 

“We have six committees right now, which focus on different parts and aspects of issues in Mason’s public health, public safety, arts and culture and things like that,” Shyma Sundar said. “And the [committees] get a list of issues that the city council is talking about, and they put their perspective into it. Members come up with issues of their own that they’re seeing in daily life. They essentially compile a monthly report that we submit to the actual city council.”

Through her time spent with the youth council, Nelson has enjoyed watching how students have grown the council and exerted leadership in the community. She has emphasized the importance of getting students involved in local government and having them learn more about what the field of politics involves. 

“There’s a lot of benefits to having this youth council, including teaching the youth how to be future leaders,” Nelson said. “It’s developing leaders that will learn how to speak in public, do project management, skills in working and communicating with others to get something passed that means a lot to them. That is really important, because the youth, of course, are going to take over the future, or the future of this country, and so getting them involved and engaged in teaching them at a young age will be very beneficial.”

Sophomore Viashu Kavali became the chair of the Public health committee within the youth council. She found out about the council through Instagram and MHS’ XLP program and thought it would be an interesting leadership opportunity to apply for. Not knowing much about local government prior, Kavali has found a new passion for community engagement. Through her experiences as a chairperson, she has been able to draw connections between much of her public health committee and other activities she is involved in. 

“[Local government] was something completely new for me,” Kavali said. “I don’t have too much knowledge on the government, but after going to meetings and saying my thoughts on public health, I’ve gained interest in working to make change [in Mason].”

The Mason Youth Council facilitates an environment for students to speak out about topics that concern the community and create plans for how they will tackle them. While the council is very new, the students have large hopes for what they can accomplish in the future. Sophomore Kabir Khullar, a member of the Economic Opportunity and Small Business Committee, has found he can add many of his life experiences and prior knowledge into the discussions surrounding community issues. 

“It’s an amazing opportunity, even more than just leadership; I think making a difference in the community is the main point,” Khullar said. “Obviously, I’m in Economics and Small Business this year and our goal is to help small businesses, which Mason is full of. I’d love to see them get as much help as possible, because of the power that we have, and in the long run, just to help the community.”

The youth council has been an amazing learning experience for both the students and Nelson. Being involved with the youth council has given Nelson the opportunity to understand how the youth interacts and views the Mason community.

“I’ve gone to all of the meetings so far and sat in,” Nelson said. “I have listened to our youth and how intelligent they are and how they’ve really thought out their ideas. They’re coming together and working together as a team to figure out how to implement their ideas, and it’s been very impressive [to see].”

Nelson has been particularly impacted by the confidence expressed by members of the council and their willingness to pursue what they are passionate about. The Mason Youth Council is just one of her initiatives involving younger generations in the community. 

“I’m really trying to be active with the youth in our community because I believe that I can really make an impact on them, especially the females,” Nelson said. “When I was running, I heard a lot of different young females say to me ‘I didn’t know that girls could be mayors.’ That was sad to me to hear, because of course we can. That was kind of the pivotal moment for me to realize the impact that I could have on youth.”

Nelson applauds the students who are in the youth council for taking the time to attend meetings and curate thoughtful plans for different aspects of the community. The involvement of MHS students into local government has given them a path to discover what a career in politics may look like and what the true motives behind public leadership should be. 

“I’ve realized that a lot of people who go into government don’t usually think that they’re going to be in politics,” Kavali said. “They just see the change that is needed in their community.”