Mazama High School student piloting Klamath County Junior Commissioner program
After Ady Swanson finishes classes at Mazama High School, she heads to the Klamath County Government Center to work with Klamath County’s three commissioners, attending work sessions as well as business, planning, and finance meetings.
During an 18-week period – one semester – Ady is learning about and participating in county government through the first-ever Klamath County Junior Commissioner Work Experience Program. During a typical week, she will meet with her mentor, Commissioner Dave Henslee, to research bills and discuss upcoming county projects.
Last month, the two bent their heads over a proposal for the Klamath Hub, which would serve as a center for community organizations such as Klamath Grown, Oregon State University Extension Office, and Klamath County Event Center. Henslee also laid out a handful of items he wanted her to research, including how a recently passed state bill allowing home delivery of alcoholic beverages would impact local government.
“I am really liking this program,” Ady said. “I knew stuff was happening in the community, and now I get to see behind the scenes and get involved.”
And she is involved. Over the weeks, Ady has earned a “seat at the table,” and the chair of the county commissioners often directly asks her what she thinks about an issue or proposal. Henslee encourages her to look ahead at the agendas and to let the commissioners know if she needs to do more research before offering her opinion.
The Mazama junior is the only student in the program’s first semester. She works at least five hours a week, usually Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
“This experience isn’t just for students interested in government or law school,” said Mazama Vice Principal Sergio Cisneros, who worked with Henslee to get the pilot program started. “It’s for students in our community to learn about their own local government and how it affects their lives.”
Starting the junior commissioner program was Henslee’s idea. He learned of a similar program in a county in South Carolina and worked with Mazama to start it here. Participating students get school credit and valuable experience to include on college applications or a resume.
“We thought it would be an interesting way to teach people about local government and hopefully inspire them to be more engaged in what’s going on in their community and to be more active community members as young adults,” Henslee said. “I really want it to be powerful for kids to go through this program.”
The idea fit Cisneros’ vision. “We want to expose students to new opportunities and provide learning experiences that go beyond the classroom,” he said. “We’re always looking for partnerships with different organizations. It was breath of fresh air when Commissioner Henslee said, ‘We value that vision, we want to ally with you.’ ”
Plans are to expand the junior commissioner work experience program to three Mazama students next semester and eventually to nine students per semester from throughout the county. The application process is expected to become competitive as students apply and their passions are matched with commissioners who are working on projects of interest.
Henslee’s long-range vision includes a program where junior commissioners work as a group to come up with a project, solicit public comment, and organize and run a town hall meeting about their proposal.
“By doing that, they would understand the pieces of the process to get an idea from proposal to completion,” he said.
County government is not new to Ady. This past summer, she did an internship with the county’s Human Resources Department through Basin Partners Internship Program. She applied for the junior commissioner program so she could learn about different areas of government though she is not interested in politics or holding public office. Her plan is to study information technology and specialize in cybersecurity.
In addition to her junior commissioner role, Ady works part-time at Dairy Queen and participates in sports – swim team in the winter and tennis in the spring. She also is a member of National Honor Society.
As a chief science officer at Mazama, Ady also introduces STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities to the community. Last year, she applied for a grant and bought a raspberry pie computer, which helps students learn programming skills. Plans are to give it to the school library so students who are interested can check it out and learn about computer programming.
“Ady’s a lifelong learner, and I respect that about her,” Cisneros said. “She’s grounded and someone who is going to do a good job and set a really good precedent for this program.”
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