The City Commission might seem like a position for adults, but high schoolers and middle schoolers can make their mark in the local government through student commissioner positions.
Elizabeth Ashley, a junior serving on the Community Housing Commission, decided to join as a student commissioner because she wanted to give back to her community, Ashley said.
“The commission that I’m in is housing, so students can’t really do as much, because it’s about legal topics, so I mostly just sit in and see what it’s like to be on a governing body,” Ashley said.
Although Ashley can’t directly participate in legal and housing-related matters, she can provide help in other ways, Ashley said.
“If they need help volunteering, they can raise money and raise awareness for the committee,” Ashley said. “Then they just ask the high school commissioners to ask Milpitas High School for student volunteers,”
Youth Advisory Commission chairperson Crystal Ha was interested in the commission because of her brother, who served as the previous chair of the commission, and because of the many events that they hosted, she said.
“The youth advising commission hosted a lot of different events before,” Ha said. “:One of them was the math and logic event, and then there was also the coding competition, which I also volunteered at and helped out with,” Ha said.
As a student commissioner in the Youth Advisory Commission, her responsibilities lay in meeting every month to plan future events and figuring out the logistics of each event, Ha said.
“I believe I gained a lot of leadership skills and the ability to plan and host events, including what is needed, how it’s required, how to fundraise, and things like that,” Ha said.
Science, Technology, and Innovation Commissioner Aahan Shah saw his position as a way to combine his interest in technology and desire to help the community., he said.
“I felt that I wanted to do something for my community, so I think this commission really gave me that platform to do so,” Shah said.
Additionally, becoming a student commissioner can help you understand how the government works, how it implements policies, and a lot of other benefits, Shah said.
“I got back great mentorship,” Shah said. “I got back great resources. I was able to develop connections with people who are tech professionals, who are ready to serve the community,”
There is a student commissioner for most commission branches and you can reach out to serve if you are interested, Shah said.
“Before you go into it, really understand that you’d have to put in the work,” Shah said. “you’d have to have the motivation to help out your community; you’d have to have that passion to do so, and make sure you align it with what you want to do.”