Throughout Issaquah and Sammamish there are teens that have made the choice to get involved in bettering their communities by joining the Youth Advisory Boards in their respective cities.

Christopher Williamson, a senior at Eastlake High School, is the chair of the Sammamish Youth Board (SYB).

“I decided to join the board in my sophomore year in order to become more involved with community events that I probably would not otherwise know about,” Williamson said.

He said the Sammamish Youth Board is a way for children in middle school and high school that live in Sammamish to make an impact in their community.

Joseph Shafer, also a senior at Eastlake, is SYB’s Public Relations Chair.

“The Sammamish Youth Board basically sets up and participates in different community service events. It is also a place where people come up with new ideas to better the community,” he said. “We are involved in bringing issues that are important, especially to teens, to the city council.”

Skyline High School senior Teresa Lin has been on the youth board for four years, and is the current Programs Chair. Lin and the rest of the youth board are currently working with the city council to see that teens are involved in the creation of the new teen center on the site of the old Sammamish Library.

At a recent council meeting, members of the board expressed real concerns that teens were essentially being left out of the discussion about programing at the center.

“We have been working with the Sammamish City Council and the Boys and Girls Club to discuss the amenities that will be included in the teen recreation center,” she said. “The youth board is determined to stay involved in this process and make sure that Sammamish will end up with a recreation center that teens will feel comfortable using as a hang-out spot.”

City of Sammamish Recreation Coordinator Lynne Handlos said she enjoys working with the teens and values the input they provide to the city council.

“Working with the youth board is my favorite part of my job,” she said. “It’s a conduit to the city, it’s the pulse of the teens in the area.”

The Issaquah Youth Advisory Board (IYB) differs slightly from its Sammamish counterpart, in that fifth and sixth graders can also be members. But both youth boards do similar work in their communities.

Cathy Jones, City of Issaquah Recreation Coordinator, has worked with the IYB since 1996, and, like Handlos, really enjoys the role.

“It’s the favorite part of my job. The teens are amazing. They are so enthused and excited about being part of the community,” Jones said.

“The projects that I’m most excited about are the ones that are planned by the young kids and to see them follow it through to fruition and have the community just love it.”

One such project was Friday Night Recess, a program that allowed parents to drop off their elementary aged students at the Issaquah Community Center where they spent a few hours with the members of the Issaquah Youth Advisory Board playing games.

Natalie Andreeva, an eighth grader at Pine Lake Middle School, is in the Middle School Action group of the Issaquah Youth Advisory Board and worked on Friday Night Recess.

“The Middle School Action team worked really hard to make sure that every aspect was taken care of and it definitely paid off. At the actual event, we could see the transformations from shy kids to kids who would jump around and have fun with everybody,” Andreeva said.

Alexis Newman, a junior at Skyline High School said she enjoys working on projects like Friday Night Recess as a member of the Issaquah Youth Advisory Board.

“It’s just a really good feeling planning something and seeing it through to the finish,” she said.

Newman wants to encourage more students to be involved with the youth board, even if you’re not a member you can still volunteer at the events.

“We have a lot of members. Every year a lot of people apply, but even if they don’t get in they can still come to all the events, we always need more volunteers,” she said. “If we remember them helping out a lot, they’re more likely to get in next year.”

The Issaquah Youth Advisory Board is currently accepting applications for next year.

The deadline is May 28, and applications are available online at www.ci.issaquah.wa.us/CCBIndex.asp?CCBID=29.