Skip to main content

Herriman Journal

Herriman Youth Council brings enthusiasm and service to the community

Aug 02, 2022 03:26PM ● By Peri Kinder

When Bethany Hall learned about the Herriman Youth Council, she encouraged her son Ethan to get involved. Hall had worked with the city’s arts council and felt the council was a good way for Ethan to learn about service and community.

“I thought, 'sure, why not?'” he said. “It’s been super cool and I’m so glad that I joined. I’ve had friends join as well and it’s been so much fun.”

The 2022-23 Herriman Youth Council started its term in July and the 34 council members will serve until the end of June 2023. Ethan, a senior at Mountain Ridge High School, has been part of the council for four years and encourages other youth in Herriman to take advantage of the opportunity to serve. 

“People think that the youth council is an official organization that isn’t a lot of fun, just kind of like unpaid labor almost,” he said. “But I want the youth who aren’t currently involved to know that it’s a ton of fun.”

Youth council members work closely with city leaders to plan service projects and help with city events. In the past, the council has grown a community garden, donating food to those in the city. The council also adopted Mountain View Corridor between 11800 South and 13400 South to keep that area clean.

The youth council helps the city’s parks department hang Christmas lights, paint curbs and plant trees. And a highlight for council members is to help with Fort Herriman Towne Days.

Destiny Skinner, Herriman communications director and youth city council adviser, said city officials appreciate the time donated to Herriman by the youth council. Young people aged 14-18 are encouraged to apply each spring for a place on the council. 

Each applicant submits a community service project idea and agrees to maintain a 2.0 GPA and be a citizen in good standing. Council members can earn a $100 scholarship each year, with a bonus of $100 if they serve all four years, for a total of $500. 

“They learn how local government works. They learn leadership skills and they also have the ability to earn a scholarship,” Skinner said. “The benefit to the city is to get the young people involved and, of course, it helps the city with events because [the youth council] does a lot of service for us.”

Ethan enjoyed attending a two-day youth council leadership conference at Utah State with teens from across the state. He learned how to get more involved with the city and reach out to people who might be interested in serving. 

“We were able to make a lot of cool friends and it was a super awesome time for us to bond together,” he said. “I realized how important communication is. I didn’t realize that on a city level it’s so important to communicate with other people because that’s how things get done.”

The 2022-23 Herriman Youth Council: Kiara Sunil-Singh, Rebecca Dansie, Sam Weller, Benjamin Dansie, Chloe Stump, Tanner Fountain, Adam Wardle, Lauryn Pelch, Natallie Southam, Joshua Didenhover, Amber Olson, Lilly Smith, Urban Smith, Gabby Apodaca, Dillon Hagen, Zaidy Rojas, Hanah Park, Whitney Robinson, Malea Hyte, Yaewon Nicole Lee, Nathan Seo, Madelynn Weber, Alyssa Sokol, Azaa Purevsambuu, Sunny Sokol, Dallin Banks, Adelyn Gilham, Liam Opheikens, Ryan Rojas, Elijah Hall, Ethan Hall, Munuu Purevsambuu, Cassidy Seo and Kaylee Gilham.

For more information, visit Herriman.org. λ

NeuroHealth

 

Upcoming Events Near You

No Events in the next 21 days.