Twelve McHenry County high school students are scheduled to attend 16th district Congressman Don Manzullo’s Youth Conference next week.
They are
- Harry D. Jacobs H.S.: Amanda Burau, Grant Dixon, Albert Plawinski and Heidy Valles.
- Huntley H.S.: Justine Alfaro, Jessica Briguglio, Abigail Derka and Elise Sulana.
- Marian Central Catholic H.S.: Jessica Kolner, Matt Munguia, Rachel Smith and Sarah Wegescheide.
The budgetary role playing sessions sounds particularly fun.
The congressman’s press release follows:
Manzullo to Gather Northern Illinois Students
Monday for 10th Annual Youth Conference[ROCKFORD] Congressman Don Manzullo (R-Egan) will bring together 117 students from 30 high schools across northern Illinois next week for his 10th Annual A21st Century Leaders@ conference in Rockford.
The day-long youth leadership summit will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, at Rock Valley College main campus, 3301 N. Mulford Road, Rockford. The opening session will take place from 9 to 10 a.m. in the Student Center, the workshops will run from 10 a.m. to noon in the tech center, and lunch and the keynote speech will take place from noon to 2 p.m. in the Student Center. All sessions of the conference are open to the media.
Following opening ceremonies, students will break into groups for five workshop sessions. Students choose two of the five workshops they would like to attend. The workshops will be led by local and national community and government leaders, and will leave plenty of time for interaction with the students. The five workshops are:
1) “America’s Global Responsibility” — an interactive exercise to prioritize global responsibilities of the United States government, led by Glyn Davies, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
2) “You’re Hired: Hot Careers in the 21st Century” — a presentation of future careers for students that will have the greatest demand and highest rewards, led by Samuel Castree, Jr., Vice President and General Counsel for Staff Management, Inc. of Rockford.
3) “America’s Future Energy Needs” — a debate about how best to plan for America’s energy needs in the future, led by David Sykuta, Executive Director of the Illinois Petroleum Council, and Dylan Sullivan, Associate Energy Advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council Midwest Office.
4) “The Cost of Freedom: Rights versus Security” — a discussion of the daily challenge to protect Americans from terrorism while preserving their civil rights, led by John McKenzie, Attorney in Charge at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Rockford, and Ed Yohnka, Director of Communications and Public Policy for the American Civil Liberties Union.
5) “U.S. Representative for a Day” — an interactive exercise to challenge students on federal spending priorities, led by Sara Imhof, Midwest Regional Director and Policy Analyst for the Concord Coalition.
Following lunch, students will reconvene for an hour-long keynote discussion on the economy led by Dr. John Lewis, Associate Vice President for Administration and University Outreach at Northern Illinois University.
“Each year, I look forward to visiting with the tremendous young people of northern Illinois at our 21st Century Leaders conference. I am amazed at their thirst for knowledge and eagerness to interact with their peers from other communities on issues they will face in coming years as young leaders,” Manzullo said.
“We have signed up 117 ‘21st Century Leaders from 30 high schools across northern Illinois for this year’s 10th annual conference. We have an outstanding lineup of speakers and we are confident the students will learn some vital leadership strategies that will better prepare them for their future roles in society.”