Leaving a Lasting Mark: Students Present their Community Cause to the Public

An important component of Youth Voices is providing an opportunity for students to present their community cause to the public and receive input, advice and perhaps new directions for their projects. This is one way the students insert themselves into the public conversation on the crucial issues facing their communities. Students at Mountain View High School began this process late last year by exploring and researching various ideas, writing articles and conducting interviews on their cause and then using social media to disseminate their work and ideas.

The students recently took the next step of presenting their causes to a group of community members and experts, including, educators, writers, architects and school administrators. The students created visual presentations that highlighted their causes and the process each team went through. They shared how their ideas evolved as they conducted research, outreach, interviews and what they view as the next steps for their community cause.

One of the objectives of the presentations was to assist the students as they prepare to do their presentation to the El Monte City Council in March. Identifying where they may need to do more research, tighten their ideas or highlight what they have already done. Guests were asked to fill out comment cards as well as ask questions after each presentation. The three groups received critical input and encouragement to move their cause forward as well as advice on recruiting more people to their cause.

Examples of comments:
For Tenacious 3: "Very feasible project. Great idea to do a competition for new designs...Reach out to hardware supply retailers for sponsorship opportunities"

For EMERALD "Great presentation...Show a map...that shows the past use vs. current use. That would be very impactfull. Use 'destination city' term."

For Lady & Gents "I like that you want to make it family friendly, 'multi-purpose' is good! I wonder if there are programs that could support your project, like an anti-obesity/healthy lifestyle that encourages people to walk and be fit. Make a design of the dog park and show it in your presentation."

Click on the pictures below to see the students presentations and to leave comments.

Tenacious 3 - Building school pride and community - Revitalizing the Mountain View High School Viking Mural

Lady and Gents - A dog park for El Monte, good for dogs, good for people

Team EMERALD - Re-envisioning vacant lots along Valley Blvd. in El Monte