Youth Meet Lawmakers: My Experience At The White House Youth Policy Summit
The summit was the first of it's kind, and YR youth were leading the conversation.
I had the amazing experience of participating in the 2024 White House Youth Policy Summit not only as a participant but also as a panel speaker with Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Education.
The summit, which brought 90 young people from across the U.S. together "was designed and planned in partnership with youth, gave policymakers from federal agencies a chance to hear directly from young people and learn from one another about how to improve policies and programs to ensure that all youth have the opportunity to thrive." Myself and my peers got the opportunity to have our voices heard on issues important to us.
I also was able to be a part of a video with other youth from around the country who have worked with YR Media to express concerns about issues that our community is facing every day. This was such an important and amazing experience for me because I was able to highlight topics that are important to me such as HBCUs, loan debt and mental health in the video which was shared for policymakers and youth to see at the summit, as well online.
I was able to connect and hear from other youth leaders from around the country, and it was also cool to see us be the experts and speakers in a room full of government leaders. Watch the video we made for the issues that we feel are important in 2024 for lawmakers to pay attention to.