The media are so full of stories about the shortcomings of America’s youth that we tend to overlook the fact that there are still a lot of good youngsters in the community. Trouble, violence and outlandish behavior invariably make headlines while, unfortunately, we seldom hear about the community service, respect for their elders and the desire of many young people to do the right thing.
However, I recently had the pleasure of meeting a group of young students from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School who reminded me once again how easily we tend to misjudge others, especially our youth.
The occasion was a series of interviews of 13 students vying for a Rotary Youth Leadership Academy, who were candidates from the Interact Club and the student body in general, organized by Donna Feazelle, who is the Interact adviser and the administrative assistant at the school. Their ages ranged from 13 to 17, with most of them around 15 or 16.
Each year, the valley’s Rotary clubs sponsor and pay for local students to attend a four-day leadership camp in Ojai, and as one of five Buellton club members on the selection committee, I had the privilege of participating in the question-and-answer session.
The applicants were all asked the following questions:
» Tell us a little bit about yourself.
» What are your plans for five years from now?
» Who has been the most important person in your life and why?
» What are your most important values?
» Outside your family and friends, whom do you most respect?
» Outside of your classes, what activity has been the most important in terms of your personal growth?
» Why are ethics important in leadership?
» Who do you know whom you feel is an outstanding leader and why?
» If you had the power and money to do something good for mankind, what would it be and why?
» As a teenager, what do you see as your role in the community? (That is, such as setting examples or community service.)
» Name one thing you have done that made you feel good about yourself.
» Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself, or do you have any questions for us?
Bearing in mind that the questions were put to the students “cold turkey” and considering their ages, my reaction to the responses from this group of youngsters is that they were invariably thoughtful, sometimes quite insightful and often compelling.
As a group, they are all involved in various activities at the school, such as art, music and dance, and many of them participate in athletic programs, ranging from soccer to basketball, swimming and track. Without question, they are doers.
First, the answers to some of the more obvious and perhaps easier questions were, not unexpectedly, similar. For instance, most of them saw themselves either in college in five years or working for an advanced degree, perhaps in education.
The most important person in their lives ranged from their mother, father or grandparents to athletic coaches and religious leaders in the community.
Their most important values included respect for others, faith and family, education, on which they uniformly placed a high priority.
The person they know personally whom they feel is an outstanding leader ranged from teachers to specific individuals at the high school to an older brother to the captain of a school athletic team.
Their responses to the question about what they would do for mankind if they had the power and money generally focused on eradicating poverty around the world, setting up a school for handicapped children, reforming education, feeding the homeless and helping seniors.
As teenagers, they considered their role in the community to be setting a good example for others, staying out of trouble, putting others first, communicating with other students at the high school, helping others in any way possible, trying to educate others about values and learning to be a leader.
They also tended to be well aware of the current political environment, but it appeared to be peripheral to their focus. None of them gave any indication that they had more than a passing interest in the subject.
And finally, the one thing they have done that made them feel good about themselves ranged from participating in community activities, such as Danish Days, to helping build houses for the poor in Mexico to taking toys to the poor, helping seniors and trying to set a good example for other students.
They were all attractive, well-mannered, respectful and well-groomed. No slouching, no sloppy attire.
All in all, this group of youngsters from our local high school has caused me to re-evaluate my perception of our youth.
Without exception, I was very impressed by this group of teenagers, and I came away from the experience with renewed respect for many of today’s young people, who are confronted with the necessity of making their way in the world during a time of trouble and conflict in our nation. My conclusion is that they will not just do well, but that they will be able to provide the leadership that will be needed in the future.
I also concluded that when I was in high school in the early 1940s, I could never have given the type of thoughtful and insightful answers to the questions we asked of this group. We are all lucky to have them take the reins of leadership in America.
— Harris R. Sherline is a retired CPA and former chairman and CEO of Santa Ynez Valley Hospital who as lived in Santa Barbara County for more than 30 years. He stays active writing opinion columns and his blog, Opinionfest.com.