The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Joshua E. during the 2007-2008 League.
Volunteering for a Political/Social-Action Organization - Farmington Hills Mayor's Youth Council
This year, I have served many hours (exceeding the 10 required for this assignment) on the Farmington/Farmington Hills Mayors Youth Council. It is a local political organization that is for teens dedicated to bettering their city by creating programs that appeal to high-schoolers. The MYC gives teens the opportunity to have fun, make new friends, plan events, and get involved in their community. Members have the chance to get hands-on experience in local government by working with the City Council while learning leadership and organizational skills. It is civic training at its best, giving kids the outlets and tools they need to increase their understanding of how to run a municipal body and make a difference.
I have been on the MYC for the past three years. I was a regular member during my first year, followed by being Treasurer my second year. This year (my third on the council) I am one of three Tri-Chairs. As my record shows, I have become increasingly involved in the council and would truthfully say that I am the leading Chairman among our three Tri-Chairs. I compose the agendas for our biweekly meetings and am the primary contact person for the groups that we interact with.
We are currently working on a number of projects. Among these are Club 2nd Floor (our teen center), Channel 8 (our talk show), F2H.org (our official website), Rileyskatepark.com/forum (our online forum), Youth Dialogues (our racial diversity program), and Gen Y Swing (our Thursday night swing dancing group). Our upcoming events include the MYC Snowman-building Competition, Battle of the Bands, Riley Skate Park Groundbreaking, Great Farmington Hills Campout, Phoenix Theatre Dodgeball Tournament, and the Michigan Youth Symposium.
I have learned a lot from my experience on the MYC, including the give and take of networking with other groups to accomplish similar goals. We are continually trying to branch out to the school councils and are hoping to eventually be able to host events together with them. We report to the City Council about our projects, and are currently budgeted about $5500 annually. We also network with other youth councils from around Michigan and the United States. This is made possible by going to conferences, mainly the Michigan Youth Symposium and the National League of Cities conference which we attend with our City Council.
Through the MYC, I have come into contact with a number of interesting and intelligent people. Teens from all different walks of life fall into the youth council environment, and I've had discussions with people ranging in belief from Liberal to Buddhist to New Age. I know that I am stereotyped as the typical privileged white Christian. So I try to be as diligent and transparent as possible and hope that God will work through me. I think that I have learned how to come across as more loving while not diluting the truth. I truly don't know what impact I've had. I hope that God will bless my efforts.
This year has been the hardest year of the three I've been on the council. Attendance of meetings and events has gone down considerably, and there is not much motivation within the council to improve dedication. I have learned how to take primary responsibility for a youth municipal body. Unfortunately, I am put in the position of being the bad guy because of holding members accountable to their responsibilities. This is difficult, especially because I know that it lessens my image in the eyes of some of the members (especially the ones that I want to be friends with and witness to).
I am trying to use this year as a building year to develop the website and forum, write curriculum for conference attendees, create tri-folds for MYC information distribution and define the responsibilities of the board. If we do those things, we can hit the ground running this fall (assuming that we can draw more members). I think all of these goals are doable with cooperation, and I will be working on them for the remainder of the year.
