HESPERIA: The City of Hesperia, Hesperia Unified School District and Hesperia Chamber of Commerce are partnering once again to offer a select group of high school seniors an opportunity to participate in the Eighth Annual Youth in Government Day event.
The goal of this event is to educate students about local government and encourage them to become more active in their community. Students are provided with a foundation in responsible citizenship, exposing them to the issues faced by today’s civic leaders and enabling them to learn the role and processes of local government.
“Each year, this event is very popular with both students and City employees,” said Mayor Thurston “Smitty” Smith. “This event offers students a wonderful opportunity to learn about careers in public service.”
This year’s event will take place on Thursday, January 30, 2013 at Hesperia City Hall.
The day-long event includes an orientation and welcome briefing, job shadowing, a luncheon program, a “Meet the Mayor” question and answer session and participation in a Mock City Council Meeting.
Youth in Government Day is designed to give high school seniors the unique opportunity of taking part in the professional world—in this case, the inner workings of a local government agency. Students will be provided with a quality educational experience through hands-on learning as they are teamed up to “shadow” workplace mentors at the City of Hesperia and experience a normal day on the job.
“Job shadowing has proven to be a great tool in motivating students by showing them how the things they learn in school are applied in the workplace. By gaining a better understanding of local government, students learn how important decision are made and how the community can be a part of the process,” said City Manager Mike Podegracz.
Source: City of Hesperia news release