2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit student leaders switch focus to helping younger students

High school students participating in the Herkimer County Youth Summit each year develop action plans to bring back to their schools to try to create positive change, but students decided this year to focus those plans on younger students instead of their peers.

Youth Summit student leaders reported that their classmates aren’t always open to the ideas in their action plans. That made them realize it might be better to target younger students who will be more receptive to their messages.

Herkimer Central School District senior Kyle Carney, one of the Youth Summit student leaders, said starting to talk to students about important topics and behaviors at a younger age can have a bigger impact. With the message coming from high school students, the younger students might be more open to learning about what the right ways are to deal with issues.

“I think when you speak to younger kids, they look up to you as role models,” Carney said.

Students from eight local school districts and two Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES programs participated in the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College – including students who are members of the Herkimer County Youth Advisory Council. Catholic Charities of Herkimer County organized the Youth Summit with the students.

The participating schools were Central Valley, Dolgeville, Frankfort-Schuyler, Herkimer, Little Falls, Mount Markham, Owen D. Young and Town of Webb. The participating Herkimer BOCES programs were the Valley Pathways in Technology Early College High School and the Pathways Academy at Remington.

Trisha Alford, youth engagement specialist for Catholic Charities of Herkimer County and Herkimer County System of Care, served as the Youth Summit coordinator. The Youth Summit student leaders were: Central Valley students Kinzea Spring and Ethan Madison, Dolgeville students Camryn Lynch and Jasmine Barnes, Frankfort-Schuyler students Madison Kelly and Isabella Nitti, Herkimer students Kyle Carney and Victoria Stapf, Little Falls students Avery McLaughlin and Makena Tooley, Mount Markham students Virginia Culver and Claire Reeds, Owen D. Young students Isabella Valenta and Vera Korol, Herkimer BOCES VP-TECH students Theresa Delong and Kaylee Walter and Herkimer BOCES Pathways Academy students Aiden Johnston, Adrianna Buris and Kendra Sheffler.

‘To make change’

At the beginning of the Youth Summit, following an icebreaker activity, Alford spoke to students about the plan and goals for the day.

“Hopefully you’re all here because you want to make change in your school,” she said.

The Youth Summit included a presentation by youth inspirational speaker Juan Cangas, breakout sessions with students from other schools, the development of action plans with students from their own schools and then presentations of the action plans on stage.

Just before students started working on their action plans, Alford emphasized the new focus this year on helping elementary and middle school students.

“Everybody looks up to all of you who are in this room. There’s a reason you’re in this room,” Alford said. “Let’s think about how we can help those younger students grow, learn and make changes.”

Alford said organizers asked ICAN Chief Innovation Officer Jeremy Butler to present during one of the breakout sessions to help students learn how to best present information to younger students. The breakout session was titled “Putting Our Skills into Action.”

“Younger students look up to them as high school students,” Alford said. “They’re high school students, but they’re the role models for those students.”

The three other breakout sessions each focused on a topic that students felt was important to address: coping skills, human trafficking and substance abuse. The coping skills session was framed through a game of Jeopardy with Lindsey Behr, of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County. The human trafficking session included a trivia game with Taylor Money, of the Safe Harbour & Treaty Program of Catholic Charities. The substance abuse session included prizes during a focus on how to identify signs of an overdose and ways to intervene with Amy Fahey, of the Herkimer County Prevention Council, and Jessica Tyrrell, of the RISE Recovery Community Center.

Carney said the substance abuse topic is one he thinks is particularly important for Youth Summit attendees to help address through their action plans. If the attendees can teach students at a young age about right behaviors, then that should make a difference, he said.

“I think substance use and abuse is a big issue,” he said.

Overall, Carney appreciates that students from across Herkimer County are able to join together each year for the Youth Summit.

“It’s cool because it’s nice to see that people from other schools and communities care about the same things as we do and want things to change and see the young students do the right things,” Carney said.

‘We need you’

Cangas gave a presentation called “Real Decisions,” during which he entertained students with stories and challenges that required students to stand up, interact and dance. Cangas told students his personal story of overcoming mistakes to make better decisions and find his path in life toward success and making a difference.

“I made my decisions for myself,” he said. “Now, it’s time you make yours.”

Cangas said leaders look at a problem and think about how they want to make the world better. He encouraged students to have a vision and decide why they are truly attending the Youth Summit.

“Do I want to participate just enough to put it on my resume to look good for colleges or do I really want to make a difference in my community?” he said.

Cangas said he aims to inspire students, and he looks at himself as less of a speaker and more of a relationship builder. He challenged students to make connections with students from other schools during the Youth Summit.

Among the stories Cangas told was a time when people were judging him for the person he was – which was an accurate judgment for who was then but not an accurate judgment of who he would become.

“You know what takes guts – is to see someone for not just who they are now but who they could be,” he said.

Cangas said Youth Summit organizers are putting on the event because they see the students as the leaders they could be for their schools, communities and country. “We need you,” Cangas said. “We need great leaders like you all.”

Juan Cangas speaking to Youth Summit students in auditorium

Youth inspirational speaker Juan Cangas talks to local students during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Student leaders from various local school districts present on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Youth inspirational speaker Juan Cangas talks to local students during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Central Valley Central School District students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Dolgeville Central School District students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Frankfort-Schuyler Central School District students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Herkimer Central School District students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Little Falls City School District students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Mount Markham Central School District students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Owen D. Young Central School District students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Pathways Academy students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College. From left: Aiden Johnston (Frankfort-Schuyler), Adrianna Burris (Herkimer) and Kendra Sheffler (Herkimer).

Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Pathways Academy students pose together during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College. From left: Kendra Sheffler (Herkimer), Aiden Johnston (Frankfort-Schuyler) and Adrianna Burris (Herkimer).

Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Valley Pathways in Technology Early College High School (VP-TECH) students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.

Town of Webb Union Free School District students present their action plan on stage during the 2023 Herkimer County Youth Summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, at Herkimer College.