Latest / Inside the OSD / S3 E7 - Dane County Youth Governance Program Ft. Jacsyn Disrud

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S3 E7 - Dane County Youth Governance Program Ft. Jacsyn Disrud · Inside the OSD

• 0:10
  SPEAKER1: We have many student leaders at Oregon High School and they make an incredible difference in our community.
• 0:16
  Today, we're talking with one of our students who is serving as a representative with the Dane County Youth Governance Program.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids.
• 0:30
  Here is your host, lifelong educator, and our superintendent, doctor Leslie Bergstrom.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER1: Hello and welcome to Inside the OSD.
• 0:40
  Could you please introduce yourself to our listeners?
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  SPEAKER3: Hi, I'm Jacsyn Disrud and I'm a senior at OHS.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER1: Thank you. Can you tell us a little bit about the Dane County Youth Governance Program and your role in it?
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  SPEAKER3: Um, yeah. So I am, like, a youth member of one of the Dane County boards, the Public Protection and Judiciary
• 1:02
  Board. And what they essentially do is review, like, all requests, and they draft, like, amendments to the
• 1:12
  proposed budget.
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  And so they work with, like, the sheriff's department and the jail, and they do all of that type of stuff.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER1: That sounds so interesting.
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  How did you get involved in this program?
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  SPEAKER3: Um, Mr. Wiegman, the--one of the history teachers at OHS, um, sent it to me in an email and it was just like the link and just "interested
• 1:35
  question mark?" Um, and that--and I opened it up and I looked into it and it looked really cool, so I applied.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER1: You know, what's really amazing to me is that sometimes it just takes one person presenting an opportunity and saying, "this made me think of you." And when you
• 1:54
  pursue that pathway, it can open up so many doors like this.
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  This is just so cool.
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  Like, who would have ever expected that you would be doing this kind of work?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah. This is something that I might have run into on my own, but I don't think I would have.
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  And I'm really happy that he sent it to me.
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  SPEAKER1: Yeah. Me too.
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  Is there any specific coursework that you have participated in that helped prepare you for this?
• 2:19
  SPEAKER3: I, I did take the political science class last year, and I'm cadetting it this year.
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  Oh, good. Um, it didn't really teach anything about local politics, though.
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  I feel like county government is one thing that you don't really learn about in school or really in general, because it's so, like specific.
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  Like you learn about Oregon and then you learn about Wisconsin and the country and you don't really think of Dane County.
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  So.
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  SPEAKER1: Um, um, for people who aren't quite sure, can you say what "cadetting" means so they know what you do in the political science class?
• 2:58
  Yeah.
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  SPEAKER3: So I'm basically, like, assisting the class.
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  So I help set up.
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  Everybody has little placards with their name on it.
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  And, um, I do anything that the teacher needs me to do.
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  I'm also the president of the political science class.
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  Um, so they're like, introducing bills and, like, voting on it.
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  And as the president, I'm allowed to veto or sign any of the bills.
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  SPEAKER1: Well, actually, I was able to watch one of your sessions a couple of weeks ago, and we have a future podcast coming up on this because it was so interesting.
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  And I would think that that experience at least gives you some foreshadow into the work you're doing on the youth governance in the youth governance program.
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah, they use the same like rules of procedure, like, um, the seconding and like all the motions are like identical.
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  They both follow like Robert's Rules of Procedure.
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  SPEAKER1: Yes.
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  SPEAKER3: Um, and like, just the way in which you talk about things is also very similar because you are talking about people that like with people that
• 4:08
  disagree with you.
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  SPEAKER1: Right.
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  SPEAKER3: And so I really like the political science class, because I got to talk to a lot of people that had very different opinions than I did.
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  Yes. And I feel like it really prepared me, not just for the Dane County Youth Governance program, but also like the world.
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  SPEAKER1: Yeah, absolutely.
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  Just like other classes, no matter the subject area, when they're teaching you to be a critical thinker and a critical consumer of information, I'm sure that
• 4:37
  helps you in not only the youth governance program, but anything else you're choosing to do.
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  SPEAKER3: Absolutely.
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  SPEAKER1: So why is it important to you to make time for this program?
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  Because there are so many demands on a student's time.
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  I'm sure you have multiple other things that you're engaging with in your life.
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah, this program is really important to me because it's just such a great experience to learn about.
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  Like the stuff that they talk about in this committee is just so far, like out of my wheelhouse.
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  It's like talking about the deferred action program and the jail system and the sheriff's department, and those are things that I don't
• 5:20
  really know about.
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  And so it's, like, a really great learning experience for myself.
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  And then they also, um, all of the youth that are in the program, um, come together and create a project to work on together.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER1: What is the project that you guys are working on now?
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  SPEAKER3: Um, it's still, like, up in the air and in the works, but we're focusing on composting initiatives actually at schools.
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  So, um, I still have to draft an email to Mr.
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  Pliner and the school board, but I'm going to ask about possibly doing, like, um, a waste audit for the school, which is like
• 6:01
  where you assess, like the trash that you do.
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  I honestly don't know what Oregon has done about, like, the waste and stuff, but I think it would be a really cool opportunity to, like, see
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  what we have and if composting would be, like, a valuable investment.
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  SPEAKER1: I am so, um, interested in the fact that you brought that up, because I work with a group of students in the superintendent's Student
• 6:28
  Advisory Council, and one of the things they brought up a couple of weeks ago is they would love to see the high school participate in composting.
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  So knowing that you might be studying that as a part of this group, we should bring both groups of people together to see what we can do with more numbers.
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  Right. That's exciting.
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  SPEAKER3: I love how we're having like, this networking discussion during the podcast.
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  It's great.
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  SPEAKER1: So what stands out as the most significant thing you've learned in your time so far with the program?
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  SPEAKER3: That--that's tough.
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  I, I've learned just so much about it.
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  I think the most significant thing would be what exactly a county does.
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  Because when I --hen I applied for the program, they didn't really say like what I would be doing even on a county committee.
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  And so I had like no idea what I was walking into.
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  Um, but they do so much like I didn't realize how much the county does.
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  SPEAKER1: I think that's a pretty, um, important piece of learning for anybody, because honestly, I think it's more than just high school students who aren't quite sure
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  what the different levels of government, what they each accomplish.
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  So I have a feeling you're ahead of most of us now in understanding the role of county government.
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  Yeah. Is that something you think you'd like to get involved with um, in an elected capacity at some point in the future?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah, that's --hat's my end goal is to be involved, I think, in probably local politics, like, um, town
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  or county, maybe school board.
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  SPEAKER1: That's really exciting.
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  So what would you say to future students who may have an interest in this area?
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  SPEAKER3: Um, I'd say connect with the people that, like, know of the things like I did with Mr.
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  Wiegman. I think that if you connect with the people who know of the opportunities, you're going to get way more opportunities and then also like
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  seeking them out for yourself.
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  SPEAKER1: Yeah, absolutely.
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  Not being afraid of a new experience, right?
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  Not only not being afraid of it, but seeking it out.
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  So-so you're senior, as you mentioned.
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  And so as you reflect on your time in the Oregon school district, what do you think you will take away from your time and your experiences here at the high
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  school? And then what's next for you?
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  SPEAKER4: Um, my
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  SPEAKER3: time at the high school, I think what I'm going to take away most is like, not like self-advocacy, but
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  like seeking out what I want.
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  Like I'm taking AP US gov online right now.
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  It's something that I had to like go to the online coordinating Director to ask if I can do and set up and work through on my own, and I may
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  be slightly behind in the class right now, but I I'm gonna finish it by the time the AP exam rolls around.
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  SPEAKER1: I'm sure you will.
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  SPEAKER3: And so I feel like just seeking out what I want the high school has like, prepared me to do that.
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  And then also like in classroom discussions, getting more comfortable with talking and like asking questions.
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  SPEAKER1: That's--those are pretty wonderful things to take away from the high school experience.
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  So what are you considering for next year?
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  SPEAKER3: Next year the goal would be to go to a college that, um, wants me to go there and is willing to
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  pay me some money to go there.
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  SPEAKER5: Um.
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  SPEAKER1: All right. So you're still exploring?
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  SPEAKER3: Yeah, I'm applying to a bunch of colleges, and then the goal is to just see which one works out cost wise and then
• 10:23
  like, um, visit them and see which one I feel like is the best environmental fit for me.
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  SPEAKER1: Well, I think that's a really good process.
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  It's been a joy talking to you.
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  So thank you for your time today.
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  Yeah.
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  SPEAKER6: Remember that you can find links to all episodes of Inside the OSD and submit topic ideas on our website at OregonSD.org/
• 10:48
  podcast. You can find this podcast anywhere you can find podcasts.
• 10:53
  Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on one of these apps to get notifications on the most recent episodes.
• 10:59
  We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD where it's all about the kids.