I am a sophomore at Santa Ana high school. I earn good grades and am always looking for good programs to participate in. I heard about youth and government and decided to check it out. At first I wasn't sure what it was about, but I could already tell that it encouraged us to work on communication skills. It also encourages us to think for ourselves and be able to express what we think. I noticed that gives us the chance to show personal responsibility by giving us work to do that would only be of benefit to us. We are currently working in groups on a fake court case that we will debate on. Working in groups lets us learn to work with others better. In the program we also participate in "networking circles", this is an activity that allows us to engage with other people from the program in a stimulating conversation. We are given a topic or question to talk about and we start talking to a partner, starting with introducing ourselves.

I've only been in this program for about five weeks and can already tell that there are many positive things that I can get from participating in this program. It is also very fun and keeps us wanting more. I hope that this program will continue to have a great positive impact on me. This program makes us think as much as possible and all the kids find it fun at the same time. It also gets us interested in politics and how they work.

Andrew Gurule