YouthWorks at Johns Hopkins University

We’re nearing the end of the YouthWorks summer jobs program and I’m going to miss the people I’ve met here. Although most YouthWorks students’ last day is Friday (July31),  my last day is today.  I’ve been selected to do a college tour so I have to leave the program two days early.  Before I go, I’d like to tell you what we did this week.  On Monday we went to Annapolis to do a mock legislative hearing. We did a lot to prepare for the hearing and sometimes it was overwhelming.  Preparing  for the hearing was like doing a big school project.  My fellow YouthWorks members had to research and present written and oral testimony in opposition of or in support of two legislative bills. The bills that we chose were Senate Bill 903 – High school Assessments Prohibition,  and House Bill 205 – School Uniforms. We split up into two groups and created  positions to argue in Annapolis in front of an audience consisting of people from the GCPA office.  I was nervous, but after I started to speak, I did so well I surprised myself.  Now, I know what it feels like to argue for or against a bill.  I learned  a lot of about everyone here and I shared a lot of laughs and joy on the job.  I’m glad I had this opportunity and I wouldn’t mind doing it again. It’s not often that one comes across a job that employs nice people who care about making the job both worthwhile and fun.