Students Attend National Youth and Government Event
MAHS rising junior Zoe Handwerk and recent graduate Rashid Ibrahim both spent almost a week in North Carolina this summer…they weren’t at the beach or hiking, but representing MASD at the Conference on National Affairs (CONA), Youth and Government’s national conference.
The two were selected for the honor based on their performance this spring at the state Youth and Government Conference, held in Harrisburg. Handwerk and Ibrahim were among only 25 students from Pennsylvania to attend the national event, and this was Handwerk’s second year in a row to represent Middletown.
Youth and Government is a student-led and student-run mock government program where participants experience what it is like to run Pennsylvania. MAHS Youth and Government Advisors are social studies teachers Miss Shank and Mr. Coleman.
The state conference is a weekend-long occasion where high school students from across the Commonwealth gather in Harrisburg and spend their time in the capitol acting as journalists, representatives and senators. They author, debate, and pass legislation which hopefully will be signed into law by the Youth Governor. CONA follows a similar format, but with high school students from across the country.
Ibrahim’s proposal at CONA to regulate the usage of custodial accounts for minors passed through the conference’s final plenary session, meaning it was one of the top 12 proposals at the entire conference. Ibrahim was also named an Outstanding Statesman, in recognition of his ability to debate with skill and poise. The recognition is given to only 30 of the 600 conference attendees.
If the accomplishments of Zoe and Rashid and other student delegates at CONA is any indication of what’s to come with the local, state and national politics, the future is looking very bright!
 .  |
MASD Youth and Government State Conference Highlights - Held May 2024
- Zoe Handwerk presented a bill which would require appropriate overtime compensation for agricultural employees. Zoe’s bill passed committee, the house, the senate, and eventually presented to the Youth Governor and signed into law “YAG Law.”
- A total of 27 high school delegations were represented at the conference and Middletown was one of only three to be recognized as a “Premier Delegation.” To achieve Premier Delegation, groups had to show evidence of contact/outreach with elected officials as well as substantial community service hours.
- Middletown was selected as the 2024 Delegation of the Year
|