Often times even at our own school we don’t realize the programs and accomplishments around us if they aren’t in our direct circle, and speech and debate and the accomplishments found within this team are no stranger to this fact. With many recent milestones in the program (state championships, nationals, tournaments of champions, etc.) we as a student body don’t regularly recognize the importance of this activity and awards that speech and debate students win. As head captain of the speech and debate team I’m in such a unique position here in newspaper to bring light to the wonderful work done in speech and debate and perhaps to share why exactly what we do is so special.
As a way to do this I decided to interview Qynton Salyer, a prominent figure on the speech and debate team and in CO youth politics. Qynton is an influential figure in a YMCA program called youth in government, this program, over the course of 4 days at the CO state capitol, has students assume roles of legislators, attorneys, pages, media personnel, and lobbyists to name a few. In addition to these positions there are also elected positions such as Youth Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, and Head Lobbyist (which this year is yours truly). Qynton was elected as Lieutenant Governor last year and since then has had the wonderful opportunity to visit Washington DC on multiple occasions in regards to civics education and pressing issues in local communities in the Centennial State. Because of his work on the hill and close interaction with the staff of Congressmen, Qynton was recently asked to join U.S. Congressman Neguse’s (2nd district) youth advisory council.
When I asked Qynton about this honor and what this meant for him and pressing issues he would like to bring for with this opportunity, this is what he had to say:
“One thing I would love to talk about is the issue of affordability for teens especially in our county with the cost of living so high[…]these problems face the schools that attend Youth in Government which gives me a hand on how to represent the people[…]I’m looking forward to applying everything I learned in DC and helping Colorado[…]I’m excited to work with all the elected officials and help shape Youth in Government for the better”.
As someone who worries about what the future of American politics holds, it’s comforting to know that many of the youth of today care so deeply about politics and are making an impact in this nation. Qynton will hopefully help bring a new age of wonder and curiosity in politics at Holy Family and I wish him the best of luck in doing so.
