Five Pierson High School students attended this year’s League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and The North Fork’s conference, “Running and Winning.” The conference, which was held at the Water Mill Community House, spanned a full day of interactions with elected officials, learning about the importance of voting, and group workshops.
New to this year, both male and female juniors and seniors were invited to attend the event. Pierson Seniors Lachlan Fuer and Rachel Monaco, and Juniors, Quinn Cole, Katherine Guanga, and David Kreigsman were invited. Students from 9 neighboring schools accompanied the Pierson students as they met with elected officials and heard from keynote speaker, Suffolk County Legislator, Bridget Fleming. During group interview sessions, students asked questions about what led the elected officials to run for office and the challenges they faced.
The theme for this year’s conference was the “Teens Talk Voting Survey.” In addition to the learning component of the conference, students also completed a survey on their thoughts and feelings about voting and elections. The students were then invited to engage their peers in the same survey to encourage an open dialogue.
“It was a great opportunity for the students to meet with peers from different schools and hear from our elected officials,” said Pierson High School ENL teacher, Lauren Kacherski. The opportunity to register to vote was also presented at the conference.