This fall, Lake Washington High School students in Kirkland worked with members of the Seattle King County League to conduct a Kirkland City Council Candidates forum. This is a shorter version of a news article three of the students who participated, Aabriella Frazier, Nandini Damodaran, and Lorenzo D’Ambrosi, wrote about their experience.

As the members of our group began sitting down for our first meeting, nobody knew what to expect. Most of us were inexperienced in the realm of city council forums. What impact could our small group have on the community anyway?

Although it was hard work, it also taught us about what we each value in the community and how we, as students, can make the positive change we want to see.

Through the mentorship of the League and guidance of our AP teachers, Mr. Dawson and Ms. Shoda, we started by gathering information from our community, doing so through surveys attached to promotional posters. We assigned several group members to hang them up at critical points throughout our school, local businesses, and public spaces such as the Kirkland Library.

Hosting the forum was a challenging yet redeeming experience.

It introduced us to the experience of working with a political organization to step into the landscape that we will soon be navigating independently: civic engagement.

Planning the forum required an efficient delegation of roles and responsibilities. Examples included writing questions, reaching out to neighboring communities, and visiting forums, all in the hopes of adequately preparing ourselves.

As a result, the questions written by a younger demographic demanded that the candidates think about issues they may have previously overlooked and approach known issues from a fundamentally different perspective to address the concerns of a new population that will soon be voting.

Click here to read the full story the students submitted.