Community Services Department
DATE: May 28, 2024
TO: Council Youth Services Committee
FROM: Lauren Eck, Recreation Coordinator
Greg Milano, Recreation Supervisor
Colin James, Recreation Manager
SUBJECT: 2024-25 Youth Advisory Committee Applicant Selection and Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION
Forward a recommendation to the City Council to approve the reappointing of nine current Youth Advisory Committee members and to appoint six new members and 10 members-at-large to the Youth Advisory Committee for the 2024-25 term.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On September 11, 2007, the City Council approved Resolution No. 17235, establishing the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC). The resolution states that the YAC consists of a combined maximum of 15 middle school and high school students who are Mountain View residents. YAC members are selected through an application and interview process facilitated by the Community Services Department—Recreation Division and appointed by the City Council.
On June 11, 2023, the City Council appointed 15 members and eight members-at-large to the YAC for the 2023-24 term. Twelve (12) of the 15 members are eligible for reappointment, and three are graduating from high school, making them no longer eligible for the 2024-25 term.
Three current members did not meet the attendance requirement for the 2023-24 term, and of these three, one will be demoted to member-at-large, and two will not be selected for another term.
Staff requests that the Council Youth Services Committee (CYSC) consider the following nine returning YAC members as candidates for reappointment:
1. Jayan Nair, eighth-grader at Blach Intermediate School
2. Kaitlyn Byon, freshman at Los Altos High School
3. Leilani Montano, eighth-grader at Graham Middle School
4. Meital Zayats, eighth-grader at Graham Middle School
5. Natalie Chan, junior at Saint Francis High School
2024-25 Youth Advisory Committee Applicant Selection and Recommendation May 28, 2024
6. Ryan Jhin, freshman at Mountain View High School
7. Shahana Rajasekaran, sophomore at Los Altos High School
8. Taylor Luna, junior at Mountain View High School
9. Victoria Ma, sophomore at The Harker School
Recreation Division staff recruited students earlier this spring to apply for the 2024-25 term.
Recruitment efforts included making virtual school announcements, delivering applications to local schools, talking to students at career fairs, posting applications on the YAC website and The View Teen Center, a recruitment ad in the Activity Guide, postings to the Mountain View Recreation Division and The View Teen Center social media accounts, and emailing applications directly to school staff to share with students. A record number of 43 applications representing students from 15 different schools were received for the 15 member and 10 member-at-large spots.
Staff conducted in-person interviews in early April and requests the CYSC to consider the following six new candidates for appointment:
1. Dylan Andrzejek, eighth-grader at St. Simon Parish School
2. Jiwoo Oh, sophomore at Castilleja School (current Member-at-Large)
3. Kaelyn Tan, freshman at Mountain View High School (current Member-at-Large)
4. Kavya Wazhi, sophomore at Mountain View High School (current Member-at-Large)
5. Naisha John, junior at Mountain View High School (current Member-at-Large)
6. Sophia Lew, sophomore at Mountain View High School (current Member-at-Large) Each of these applicants effectively articulated their desire to be a member of the YAC, communicated how they may contribute to the YAC’s overall goals, and showed commitment to the 2024-25 term. In the recommended list of candidates, there is a larger number of Mountain View High School students than students from other schools, specifically Los Altos High School.
Through staff review of received applications, staff noted that more Mountain View High School students applied than Los Altos High School students. Recruitment efforts for both schools were similar, and staff will look for opportunities to further engage with residents who attend Los Altos High School in the next recruitment period to increase applications received from that school.
In addition to the staff recommendation of 15 candidates for appointment, staff requests that the CYSC recommend the following 10 candidates be named members-at-large. Members-atlarge receive ongoing YAC communications, an invitation to attend meetings as a nonvoting public participant, and opportunities to volunteer at YAC and City-sponsored special events.
1. Alyson Lu, eighth-grader at The Girls’ Middle School
2. Ariana Motaghiannezam, junior at Los Altos High School
3. Harshini Nagappan, freshman at Los Altos High School
4. Katherine Xu, freshman at Mountain View High School
2024-25 Youth Advisory Committee Applicant Selection and Recommendation May 28, 2024
5. Katherine Li, seventh-grader at Crittenden Middle School
6. Miguel Malicse, sophomore at Saint Francis High School
7. Oliver Pollock, seventh-grader at Crittenden Middle School
8. Rahul Sundaresan, sophomore at The Harker School
9. Samuel Li, sophomore at Saint Francis High School
10. Sarp Akalin, eighth-grader at Bullis Charter School Based upon the interview process and the limited number of positions available, 18 of the 43 applicants were not forwarded for appointment at this time.
NEXT STEPS
Following CYSC consideration and recommendation, staff will forward the list of recommended candidates to the City Council for a formal appointment at the June 25, 2024 City Council meeting.
LE-GM-CJ/1/CSD
255-05-28-24M