Michael Todd
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Naomi Tsuang
News Editor
The Manhattan Beach Mayor’s Youth Council hosted the first two of its three-part speaker series, “Make it Count,” in the small theater on March 7 and March 21, in order to teach students about a variety of topics, including stress relief and proper etiquette.
Manhattan Beach Mayor’s Youth Council is a program that allows high school students to meet professionals in a variety of fields in order to learn about leadership, civic engagement and various careers. MYC members wanted to provide an opportunity for Costa students to learn about a range of topics that would be beneficial in their everyday lives, MYC member and curator Christine Garrison said.
“The speaker series is very interesting and each of the speakers has spoken about different topics relating to students,” MYC member and junior Wyatt Saltzman said. “They’re a great opportunity for students to learn about different topics.”
Seniors Samantha Frias and Adam Kim and Garrison curated the first talk, entitled “The Art of Conversation and the Importance of Listening.”
English teacher Cameron Chow discussed how conversations can leave positive impressions and affect the image students put out to other people. Comedy Sportz members and seniors Jack Drinker, Toby Kamish and Molly DeSimone discussed improv and techniques to help with listening.
“I think the event ran very smoothly and the speakers did a great job with the topic,” Garrison said. “I hope the students who attended learned how to have better conversations that are more meaningful and [of] the importance of listening to others.”
Sophomores Rachel Clinton, Ella Scalabrini and Redondo Union High School sophomore Lauren Chao organized the second talk, “The Benefits of Failure,” which took place on Wednesday. They chose the topic because many high school students struggle with failure, Clinton said.
“We knew that many high school kids, especially the ones at Mira Costa, struggled with the idea of failing at the various classes or activities they are involved in, so we decided to create a presentation about how to cope with failure,” Clinton said.
English teacher Stacy Cabrera encouraged the audience to try new experiences, learn to enjoy the uncomfortable and overcome failure. Radio talk show host and Los Angeles Daily News columnist Doug McIntyre also discussed how failure is the price of success and shared his personal experiences with overcoming failure.
“We hope that the students learn that even though they won’t always get an outcome they want, every situation can be beneficial depending on how they look at it,” Clinton said.
The third event in the series, “The 17 Year Old Brain and How it is Affected by Stress,” will take place on Apr. 11. Sophomores Peri Nathan and Megan Seth and junior Henry Householter curated the event and decided to choose the theme of stress because it is a prevalent issue for teenagers, Seth said. Psychologist Dr. Deborah Budding and junior Yusuf Abdul-Cader will discuss how stress affects people of all ages.
“We believe this theme is relatable and a lot of students will benefit from it,” Seth said. “[The talk] will help bring awareness to certain beneficial changes we can make in our lives.”
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