Southeastern Regional Students Serve on Congressman Kennedy's Mass4Youth

(South Easton) - Taylor Mackie, a senior from Mansfield, and sophomore Taryn Scanlon of Brockton have been serving on Congressman Joe Kennedy’s Congressional Youth Cabinet for the 4th Congressional District of Massachusetts. The Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School students, through their committee memberships, advise the Congressman on issues that affect youth, their families and their communities.

Sixty high school students participate in the Youth Cabinet this year. The geographic catchment area extends from Brookline/Wellesley to Fall River, and includes both large and small schools of every type: City or town school districts, regional, vocational technical, charter and parochial high schools.

The Youth Cabinet consists of five different committees – College Affordability, Health and Wellness, Social Issues/Tolerance/Bullying, Policy/Politics/Law and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Taylor selected to participate in the STEM Committee, while Taryn’s interest lined up with the Social Issues/Tolerance/Bulling Committee.

“From the rising costs of college tuition to the potential of STEM education and the dangers of bullying, it is important that our youth have a voice in the discussions that will shape their future,” said Congressman Kennedy. “This Cabinet ensures that students across the 4th District are engaged in the issues that affect them most and gives them the opportunity to play an active role in finding solutions.”

The Congressman hopes the experience will produce students that remain engaged in their communities, state and nation. He wants to show them that their vote really does make a difference. “Unless you’re engaged in the process, you don’t know the power you have in voting. We want to keep them engaged,” said Lisa Nelson, Senior District Representative. “Once the kids graduate, we want them to still keep in touch. We encourage them to do internships in the local office, or even in Washington, D.C., just to keep the engagement going.”

“I felt this would be an opportunity to be heard, rather than having an opinion and going unnoticed,” said Taryn. “If something affect one person, it’s going to affect a lot more, especially for teens dealing with social issues like Bullying.” Taryn looks forward to their next meeting on April 18, 2015.

Students also benefit from speakers who address such timely information as college affordability and admissions, as well as the journey a bill takes to become a law. Youth then bring information, resources, zeal for civic engagement and ideas gleaned at these meetings back to their schools and communities.

Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School is a public 9-12 vocational high school located in South Easton, Massachusetts, serving over 1,400 students from the City of Brockton and the towns of East Bridgewater, Easton, Foxborough, Mansfield, Norton, Sharon, Stoughton and West Bridgewater.