WYOMING, Ohio — The City of Wyoming is taking a new approach to its city council with 21 high school students now actively participating on nine different committees and commissions.
Students filled out applications, interviewed and now attend committee and council meetings.
Tyler Evans, a Wyoming High School junior, is serving on the recreation committee.
"I grew up playing sports," he said.
He said he believes he is a good ambassador for the youth regarding sports and other community concerns.
His sister Lexi Evans, also a Wyoming High School junior, is on the Promote Wyoming Commission after seeing how little her generation is active around the city.
"I'm a hostess at one of our local restaurants and we have a lot of events on our village green so that's like our big event space," she said. "And I always see people interact with these events, but I never really see my age come."
Fellow Wyoming junior Nathan Niklewski plans to use his green thumb to elevate his community.
"Over the summer I did a lot of volunteer work growing food for food banks like for fresh produce, and I did that with my grandmother and that was a great experience," Niklewski said.
Students study by day and attend council, committee and commission meetings in the evening.
"I hope they’ll really learn about communication problem-solving and different ways to engage with people that they don’t ordinarily speak with on a day-to-day basis," Vice Mayor April Robles said.
She said students have been challenging the system by bringing new and fresh perspectives. Their term, she shared, will go until May 2025.
"I’m just really excited that me and my fellow classmates can help make a change for everybody else and hopefully for future generations to come," Lexi said.
You can find more information on their meetings on this website.
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