By Clair DuMont
Staff Writer
Students searching for career ideas, inspiration, and leadership advice through speakers and workshops, can look no further than Mayor’s Youth Council.
According to Mayor’s Youth Council Co-Chair Penny Bordokas, the program connects high school students with professionals from different career paths. Members meet in monthly sessions and workshops that feature a speaker from different job fields and careers.
“The goal of Mayor’s Youth Council is to open students up to the possibilities that are out there and different careers outside of their friends and family. It’s also an opportunity to find internships,” Bordokas said.
Bordokas also indicated that the program is open to students in sophomore to senior year. Students fill out an online application followed by an in person interview with members of the Mayor’s Youth Council board. The 2015-2016 session started in September and will finish in May 2016.
“I decided to join Mayor’s Youth Council because I’m still unsure about what I want to study in college and spend the rest of my life involved in, and it’s an opportunity to learn more about different fields,” Costa junior and Mayor’s Youth Council member Beau Staso said.
Staso stated that the meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month in various locations. Each session has a speaker from a certain career path such as law, medicine, science, engineering, or communications. The speakers are chosen by the chairs and members of the board.
“We try to pick topics and presenters that reflect interests in certain careers that the kids might have,” Bordokas said, “We use a survey taken from previous years to gain an understanding of what areas of expertise and careers the students liked the most.”
At the workshops, members learn basic skills of the job world, such as networking or working as a group. The workshops serve as an introduction to certain fields and topics and are meant to inspire and motivate the students into different career paths or jobs.
“My favorite part are the workshops, which fulfill a variety of career paths across many different fields for students to understand what it’s like to be a leader,” Member of the Mayor’s Youth Council team Michelle Lautanen said, “I ask myself questions like, How did he or she get there? Was it hard work?,”
As stated by member and Costa senior Danielle Major, the last session was a Science and Space Workshop held at Northrop Grumman. The workshop for the session was to figure out how a newly discovered planet would be colonized under certain conditions and in different situations.
“The Northrop Grumman session was the most inspiring,” Major said, “I was forced to think like an engineer and consider all of the technical and mechanical implications when creating a telescope or environment on another planet.”
As mentioned by Lautanen, one of Mayor’s Youth Council’s main goals is to inspire and motivate members to pursue different career paths. It can broaden their horizons and help them to see careers in a whole new light and consider them in a way they never have before.
“I would definitely recommend it because it connects you with local governmental and business leaders and allows you to work with other students who are driven and have similar aspirations,” Major said.
Mayor’s Youth Council introduces high school students to different job fields and career paths. It can offer an opportunity for internships and learning how to function in the modern workforce. Applications for the 2015-2016 session are closed, but will open again in May 2016.
“Manhattan Beach is a very close community. We should look out for each other, and it can start with the youth of today, our leaders for tomorrow,” Lautanen said.
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