Kayla Rasmussen, President
Hey there! Meet our Youth Council members! First up, a thirteen year old girl from “The Hills”. Why did Kayla decide to join the Youth Council? “Too many people complain about things that need to be changed, things that need to be done, and I want to do something about it. If your coffee is cold, stop complaining and warm it up in the microwave. And that`s what I`m here to do, make the community better for youth and adults alike. When the Council is done, this community will be a whole lot different than it used to be. And I think the rest of us agree on that.”
Sanya Chaudhry, Vice President
Ask this thirteen year old how she started in the council, and you`ll probably have a pretty simple answer. “I joined because… Well Kayla told me about it and I decided to give it a shot. She told me that the council would be starting up a basketball drop-in league in the next year, and I love basketball. I live for it.”
Kiran Sharda, Volunteer Coordinator and Secretary
Walk in the doors and you see an 11th grade girl in a Perry the Platypus t-shirt, waving at you and smiling with bright blue nails. Meet Kiran. She`s an ambitious teen with nothing to lose. After volunteering to be the secretary and the volunteer coordinator, Kiran made it clear that she was here to help and here to lead. You should expect great things from this girl.
Otto Lau, Treasurer
This guy is awesome. He`s been here since day one, and although he`s not that chattiest, he brings a “l-Otto” the table! He deals with our finances and gives us advice on how to handle issues. He will manage our finances and make sure that we don’t overspend!
Stefan Ruediger, Marketer and Communications
Stefan may look like your average guy, but watch out. He’s creative, chill, and up for any position within the council. Even though he’s been switched back and forth within positions, he bounces back and gives it all he’s got!
Sameha and Ali Abdulbaki, Events Coordinator
I should start calling them Salt and Pepper! If we have a boring event that needs excitement, we can count on Sameha and Ali to “spice it up”! Sameha is creative and smart, while Ali is enthusiastic and full of suggestions. So many things have happened these past couple months, but they just think of more events to get our name out there (and they’re pretty cool too!). Just make sure you don’t make Ali secretary!
Amanda Davis, Founder
Without Amanda, none of this wouldn’t exist. She believes that the youth in our community should have a voice and she wanted to make sure that we had the opportunity to do so! She put the ads in the newsletter and seven of us responded! We are ready to make a difference, so thank you Amanda for starting this up for us and giving us this opportunity. We wouldn’t and couldn’t be here without you!
What Have We Been Working On?
For the past couple of months, we’ve been getting settled in. Some of our council members attended the NHCA monthly council meeting and we’ve been having our own about every week. We attended the business fair on November 19th, helped at the Harvest Hills Alliance Church Craft Fair on December 2nd, and set up a volunteer sign-up table on the December 3rd Christmas Event (having over 30 people sign up!) We planned a “Snow Day” event, but after a delay in the construction of the Harvest Hills outdoor ice rink we decided to cancel. Another cancelation included the first annual Career Fair. We were going to invite different trades and companies to come and talk about their jobs to high school students about to apply to colleges, but unfortunately this required much planning and could not be done in time. We are still looking at holding this event, but it probably won’t be until next year. We want to make sure that it is planned well so that it is a successful event!
Otto conducted a survey this past September and we discovered that a majority of students at Notre Dame High School wanted to have access to a drop-in/community basketball league. So… sometime this year or early next year, we will be looking at teaming up with Cardel Place starting up a basketball and floor hockey league for the cold winter months!
We are still looking for volunteers aged 13-17 to sigh up with us for future volunteer opportunities! Please email youthvolunteer@northernhills.ab.ca
Kayla Rasmussen, NHCA Youth Council President
