After facing vacancies due to graduating seniors, Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers is scouting for new members to fill the empty seats in the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission.
The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission (MYAC), which has been in existence for more than 30 years, is made up of local high school students and provides the opportunity for members to be involved in their community and city government.
“The thing I love about it is it gives us a chance to take these kids that typically are some of the best of the best and give them an opportunity to do community service and help me with a lot of things we’re trying to accomplish as a city,” Weiers said. “The kids learn from those experiences and are exposed to different things.”
Through the commission, youth members work as a group to select various projects to fundraise for. The student commission also works with advisors and different members of the Glendale city government to find volunteer events.
Weiers said previous commissions have picked fruit for food banks, provided gifts for families during Christmas, and volunteered at veteran events and the Christmas parade.
“It’s a huge benefit for the city, for my community,” Weiers said.
The commission also works alongside the mayor to provide a perspective on local youth related issues.
Commission members are required to attend monthly meetings held at Glendale City Hall and volunteer for a minimum of 20 hours throughout the school year.
Weiers said the students are “truly brilliant” and have various responsibilities outside of the MYAC. Many student members have a 4.0 GPA, are involved with other organizations and speak multiple languages.
“One time we got them all lined up and the question was asked, ‘If you speak a second language, step forward,’” Weiers said. “I think every one of them stepped forward, and that kind of blew my mind.”
Weiers said the MYAC has successfully provided career opportunities for students in the past. After graduating high school, one member became an anchor for a news station in Tucson and a different member became a governor’s advisor. If members are in good standing with him, Weiers said he will sign endorsement letters for scholarships.
Along with graduating seniors leaving the commission, Weiers said the MYAC has also faced vacancies due to COVID-19.
“Before, we actually got to where we were so large that we had to start turning kids away,” Weiers said. “But then during COVID, it really shot down. I also started having issues in my office trying to keep staff, so we’re in a rebuilding process right now.”
Fifteen-year-old Micaela Randolph, who has been a member of the MYAC for one year, said about “half the council” was lost when its seniors graduated from high school and the number of current members was lessened due to the pandemic.
Randolph said that she encourages other high school students to apply for the MYAC.
“You’ll get to join a very gifted group of individuals that help each other out in any way we can,” Randolph said. “You’ll get to go through so many fun experiences with the council.”
Randolph joined the commission after learning about the different opportunities that it provides. In addition to the volunteer events and fundraising project, Randolph said the committee has learned from informational speakers and connected with members of the community and others who are in leadership positions.
“We get to meet members of the community and help them out in different ways,” Randolph said. “When you’re a part of the commission, you’ll also get to meet many city officials that can help you learn about different ways the government works and you also get to meet the mayor.”
The online application for the MYAC consists of a questionnaire that asks students to list the clubs or organizations that they participate in and declare why they are interested in becoming a member. A maximum of 40 students can join the commission and they must reside in Glendale or attend a high school in the city.
The deadline to apply for the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission is Friday, Aug. 12.
