The Students Inside Albany (SIA) conference, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of New York State Education Foundation, Inc., is designed to increase students’ awareness of their responsibilities in our representative government and provide the tools necessary for meeting those responsibilities.
The conference will bring together high school students from across the state to learn about New York State government and the process by which citizens can participate in the policy-making arena. As part of this program, students will tour the Capitol and observe both the Senate and Assembly in action by spending an afternoon shadowing their legislators.
Each year our League works with a local school district to select a student to attend. Interested students submit an application and an essay with their background and the reasons for their interest in participating. We review the applications and essays and interview the students – usually one or two. It’s an exciting and challenging process, and it’s very rewarding to see how accomplished these students are.
For several years, we have invited our student representatives to speak about their experiences at our annual luncheon. It is very moving and powerful to hear them talk about the excitement of meeting other students from areas throughout the state, and what the opportunity to meet with their local representatives meant to them. Some return wanting to become lawyers and run for office!
It’s a rewarding and enriching experience. If you would like to work with me on this, you can contact me using the contact form below. The conference is in May and we usually start working on it in early January.
