A 15-year old sophomore at Denmark High School has been selected as one of just 50 delegates to the YMCA Youth in Government program.
Henry Pahlow is a national youth delegate, as explained by local YMCA Executive Director Julie Grossman, “which is a four-month intensive civic engagement program that’s done nationally and virtually, but then it ends with four days in Washington D.C. All Y’s send delegations to advocacy days and we go talk with our national representatives about issues important to the Y, relating to wellness, social responsibility, and youth development. But this particular delegation of teens will join us on Capitol Hill.”
Youth in Government, through the Y, is open to all students in grades 7-to-12 and engages hundreds of students from across the state each year. Grossman said in February these teen representatives actually sit in on a legislative session in Madison, “complete with the governor and the media. Everybody has a part to play and all the legislators bring their bills. I sat in the balcony and watched it last year and had tears in my eyes the entire time. It was so cool to watch these kids engage in civic, civil debate.
Barb Schmidt, who is the Aquatics and Program Enrichment Director at the Y, explains Henry Pahlow’s goal is to have a career in government and he’s always had a passion for it. In kindergarten, he went to career day dressed as president of the United States.
Henry is also involved in theater and musicals at Denmark High School, including a lead role in the school production of Cinderella which opened this weekend.
