NORWALK–Calif.–Armenian Mesrobian School students Raffi Kassabian–Sonya Majikian–Garen Kirakosian–Barig Madoyan–and Gregor Kirakosian–accompanied by faculty Advisor Mariam Samoniantz–participated in a youth summit–hosted by Cong. Grace Napolitano (D-34th District) and the City of Norwalk–on Oct. 21.
The summit entitled–"Youth Partnerships for Safe communities," acknowledged the leadership of young adults who are trying to improve their schools and see the value and importance of community participation.
"This was an event long in coming," Napolitano said–"it is time for us to listen to what the youth have to say about issues which primarily concern them. After all–they are the electorate of the future."
Participating from 15 different local public and private schools attended the workshops pertaining to school–community–youth influences–and cultural and social issues.
Not only were they offered a forum to state their ideas and suggestions–but they also had a chance to meet and interact with students from various schools.
The youth summit–the first of its kind in the state–was a day where the youth’s voice was loud and clear–with the airing of their concerns and the open and frank discussions of solutions they proposed based on their grassroots knowledge.
The elected leaders paid close attention to the youth’s concerns and pledged to keep working together to ensure that their opinions and suggestions were being considered as an important component of the electorate.