Grand Junction High School students have found a way to involve themselves in the community beyond the classroom.
GJHS students seniors Aaron Gomez-Farinacci and Diego Villa-Valenzuela, Quilcene Colwell, and sophomore Urel Mayes are active members of the West Slope Youth Voice (WSYV).
Established in 1980, WSYV is a student-led, nonprofit organization supported by the Western Colorado Alliance. According to its mission statement, the group aims to “support the next generation of leaders by exposing students to democracy and giving them opportunities to advocate for student issues with elected leaders.”
“It gives students an opportunity to use their voice to speak out about the problems we’re having in schools,” said Mayes.
Through this program, students gain valuable experience in leadership development, peer-to-peer youth activation, youth issue identification and advocacy and civic engagement. The program involves students from all over the western slope, allowing high school students to make connections with others their age who they, otherwise, would never have known.
“I’ve been able to go on really cool trips and meet people from all the way over in LA,” said Colwell.
Earlier this year, WSYV sent 14 students to the state Capitol building in Denver to take part in the program’s annual legislative event. This included Colwell, Mayes, and Villa-Valenzuela. Mayes described the event briefly, saying he enjoyed how students got to use their voice to “ask senators questions and get it directly from the source.”
Villa-Valenzuela, the head intern of the program, introduced Colwell to WSYV. Colwell believes all students should be more “politically aware” of the things happening around them and in the world. He believes this program somewhat helps him further his career path.
“I liked seeing how the Capitol works and to see how senators are real people…you can take an active role in the decision making,” said Colwell.
For students interested in learning more or getting involved, WSYV shares updates and opportunities on their website, Instagram, Facebook, and in their yearly newsletter, where readers can see firsthand how the youth are working to shape and implement change on the Western Slope.
Those not involved in WSYV can still make a change by voting. All residents of Colorado can pre-register to vote at age 16. This registration automatically becomes active at 18 with no extra steps needed. Students can be active in their community without voting.
