Community leaders who attended Friday’s youth conference at California State University, Stanislaus, left the campus impressed with the students who participated. The conference, titled “The Civic Mission of Education, Own Your Community,” followed last year’s successful gathering.

More than 150 high school students worked in focus groups with 10 of the university’s honor students in discussions on subjects like teens in the media, public school spending, and keeping healthy. Students came up with the ideas and split into groups based on their interest for a particular issue. The students were asked to pick two things they can do and present their ideas to a town hall panel of Valley Leaders, which included Turlock Mayor Curt Andre, CSU Stanislaus President Marvalene Hughes and Stanislaus County Office of Education Superintendent Martin Peterson.

“I don’t think civic engagement can begin too soon,” Hughes said. “I am delighted we are focusing on it in some deliberate fashion. The most noble value a citizen can honor is the value of leaving a legacy and giving something back. Everything else is only temporary.”

One topic during the seminar also helped the young adults to realize the importance of voting, Peterson said. His speech consisted of educating the students on that subject.

“This is a dynamic event. It is democracy in action. I want them to get involved with what they want when they are young and to know how important it is to stand-up and talk about things,” Peterson said.

The final segment of the program was the Civic Mission of Education Awards ceremony, which honored kindergarten through 12th-grade students, university students, faculty members, community members and local businesses for community service. CSUS psychology professor Emily Branscum-Higuera was honored as for work that exemplifies the civic mission of education.

The CSUS honor students were facilitators who helped lead the discussions.

“Our job is to stay neutral, get points across and guide the conversation. We wish we had this opportunity when we were in high school,” said CSUS Facilitators Kelsy Bryant.

Sulma Guzman, team leader of the honors program, researched various projects, attended training sessions and helped present the idea to faculty members.

“This is very important. There are a lot of high school students who don’t care,” Guzman said. “This is an opportunity to express your concerns and meet people that can help solve the problems.”

It was the first time that a discussion panel of this sort offered the chance for high school students to participate.

“In life, we tend to think of people in four categories: Those who stand by and watch what is happening; those who do not care what is happening, and those who become leaders and make things happen. It is the leader who cares who can mobilize others for change, not the person who is apathetic,” Hughes said.