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KYA JournalVolume 1: Issue 5 December 5, 2015

By: Shelby Alger

The Governor Spotlight

Let’s talk about Eliza Devlin.Starting her Y journey her fresh-man year, Governor Devlin at-tended KYA and other Y confer-ences ever since. To Devlin, KYAmeant “a group of passionateand inspiring students that setthe tone for next generationaldebate. Everyday, our lives aredictated by adults. Here, stu-dents get to discuss matters withstudents.” If someone told herfour years ago that she wouldbecome Governor of KYA HighSchool 3, she would have laughedand said, “You are crazy.” See-

ing past ofcers and how theyinspire others to use their voice,Devlin was motivated to run forgovernor. Her three platformsshe campaigned for were sexualeducation, getting the arts backinto Kentucky, and an increasedaccess for healthy food. “When Ifound out that I had won, I wasin complete disbelief. I felt anoverwhelming sense of love,” said

Devlin. But she isn’t all business:If she could be any character, shewould be Kim Possible because ofhow strong and independent sheis.The job of the governor was byno means an easy one. On therst day, the governor calledeveryone into debate. On thesecond day, those whose bills

passed met with the governor todiscuss their bills. Devlin askedquestions such as “What wasyour motivation for writing thisbill?,” “How would this bill benetyour community?,” and “What doyou love about this bill?” Whilemost attended the mixer on thesecond night, the governor andher leadership team met to dis-cuss the bills passed. The lead-ership team advised the governorbased on constitutionality, bud-get, feasibility, and more. It wasthen up to the governor to decidewhether to sign the bill into lawor to veto it. Eliza mentioned

By: Mary Jane Mayo

Q&A with Staff

and Ofcers

Questions:

1) If you could be a sandwich,what sandwich would you be?2) Do you relate most to earth,re, wind or water?3) Are you romantic or realistic?4) Are you introverted or extra-verted?5) Are you a leader or partici-pant?6) Which specic part of KYA tofeel most passionate about?

The One Who Is Eloquent:

Derek Summerville1) Jason’s Deli club2) Wind because I’m always onthe move3) Romantic as in I like to beimaginative4) Bit of both depending on thesituation5) Leader6) I would say Lobbyist but moreholding as true to the process as

possible.

The One With All The Smiles:

Sierrah Miley

1) Turkey (because my birthdayis on Thanksgiving) with miraclewhip (because it’s sweet)2) Fire because I’m erce andstand for what I believe in.When I give my opinion, I hope it



that “My biggest challenge asgovernor would have to be that Idon’t want to let anyone down. Iwant to give every ounce of my-self to this conference and for all1,100 students to get somethingout of this experience.”After high school, Devlin wants

to work for the United Nations,especially with human rights

and refugees. Once she becomessuccessful, she wants to createa non-prot organization forstudents in Kentucky who live inhistorically poor counties. Withthis, she would make sure thateach Kentuckian has an equalopportunity to do whatever they

want to do.

spreads like wildre.3) Romantic, but wish I was real-istic4) Extroverted5) Leader6) To see what the ofcers doand have to say its so encour-aging to be able to watch kids

are own ages lead something sogreat. Its refreshing to see theimpact we make here and theimpact we potentially will make

The One Who Is Mr. Right:

Garrett Kasey

1) Peanut butter jelly. It’s anAmerican classic.2) Fire because I’m passionate

about a lot of sports, school,people, and Y-club.3) Realistic because I’m logicaland I like numbers.4) Very extraverted.5) Leader, I like the lead by exam-ple.6) The call to getting involved. Asyouth, we’re told we’re too youngand we don’t have a strong voice.That’s not true; we leave a huge

impact in everything we do and Iwant to see more people comingto KYA. I want to reach everyone.

The One Who’s In Disguise: Amanda Bates

1) No bread, bib lettuce, avo-cados, sprouts, pickled beats,smoked chicken, Düsseldorf mus-tard.2) Fire because I’m a sassy, pas-sionate individual.3) Horribly realistic professional-ly, romantic in my personal life4) Introverted masquerading asextraverted5) Both6) Engaging the kids the thatdon’t feel like they have a place,specically through media corps

Mary Jane Mayo

KYA- The Real Experience

I believe everyone experi-ences KYA differently becauseof certain perspectives and

personalities. For instance, billsponsors will probably be fret-ting over speeches, delegateshave been hurrying to get allof their thoughts written downwithin the rst couple minutesof a bill’s speech, and advisorsare busy making sure everyone iswhere they should be. And let’snot forget the parents, because

they virtually went through thisconference with you with theamount of texts and calls you’vereceived. If I can contain your attentionspan for another couple hun-dred words, I’d like to share myown experience. This conferencemarks my fth Y conference, butmy rst high school KYA. My ad-visor is the one that sold me on

Media Corps, and I absolutely donot regret participating in it.

On the rst day, the nerveswere getting to me becauseeveryone came with their camer-as, and then there was me, theoddball, with a reporter’s note-book and my favorite pen. I was

even late to my second meeting(not a great rst, or second, im-pression). In addition to my lackof timeliness, I listened to some

very positive speakers that hadnothing but awesome and moti-vational things to say about theyouth of Kentucky, with one inparticular, Governor Eliza Devlin.

The second day, though, iswhen the real fun took place. I

jumped from session to session,getting the opportunity to seeand follow a variety of bills in an

array of settings, rather than sitin one room for several hours. It’s no wonder that this con-ference, and the whole Y orga-nization, is such a big deal, withseven separate conferences forboth the middle and the highschools this year. Bless theCrowne Plaza for putting up withthat many teenagers. With anassembly this large, it’s impossi-

ble for us not to make an impact,with so many young people withimportant opinions that refuseto not be heard. So thank you,Y-staff, presiding ofcers, etc.,for making my experience andopinions matter.



The One Who’s Sprightly:

Starla Whitaker

1) Hot ham and cheese2) Well, re is spicy, the earth iscalm, and the wind messes withmy hair so not those. I’d say wa-ter because it’s so changeable3) Romantic

4) Both5) Leader6) Karaoke because after kidshave gotten dressed up and be-come adults for two days, we seethem let loose, we get to see kidsbe kids.

The One With Who Is Amusing:

Bella Beilman

1) Wheat bread, ham, salami,provolone, lettuce, pickles, ba-nana, peppers, Panini pressedand cut diagonally in half.2) Fire, I’m sassy but sweet.3) Realistic.4) Extraverted 100%5) Denitely both6) Debate, I love hearing whatpeople have to say and hearingthem voice their opinions.

By: Brianna Bragg

Advice to Premire Delegates

As a premiere delegate myself, I know that the rst KYA conferencecan be pretty intimidating. Everyone around you has been doing thisfor years, and you are a complete newbie with tons of questions.While it may not seem like it, everyone around you has been in yourshoes. They have all experienced their rst conference, and haveloved it so much that they have come back for years and years. Hereis some thoughtful advice from experienced delegates to help pre-miere delegates through their rst conference.

“Don’t be afraid to speak, if you are nervous, stare at the back of theroom and speak. Your heart will race, but it is worth it.”

- Candidate Grace Thomson, Holy Cross High School.

“Go out on a limb and do things that expand your comfort zone.When you expand it, it never contracts in size.” - Governor Eliza Devlin, Assumption High School

“This is an overwhelming Y-World, and should you choose to makethis your home, you should embrace it.” - Lobbyist Rishma Nazeer, Kentucky Country Day

“If you have a panic attack, just know it will be okay.” - Advisor Kristina Pelletier, River City Teens HS

“Speak every chance you have to speak because as the conferencegoes on, it gets harder and harder to speak, so get up there and gavefun.” - Bill Sponsor Dean Farmer, North Oldham High School

Special Thanks to

Our Media Corps Team!

Bailey Vandiver

Shelby Alger

Mary Jane Mayo

Brianna Bragg

Laura Callihan

Austin Dugan

J. D. Malcolm

Amanda Bates



The Symbol of DemocracyBy: Bailey Vandiver

Every Y kid, deep in his orheart, wants a gavel. At eachKYA, a lucky few receive one.With their gavel, they receiveresponsibilities, privileges, andpower.

“I think I squealed and pro-

ceeded to not put it down for thenext few hours,” said Secretaryof State Emilee McCubbins. YStaff surprised McCubbins andAttorney General Andrew Val-entine with a gavel when theyarrived at this conference. After

giving Valentine several materi-als, Tracy Ingram instructed himto close his eyes and hold out hishands. “At the rst touch, I knew

I was holding a gavel,” Valentinesaid. “I basically jumped up anddown.”

Committee Chair Hailey Simp-son received her second gavelon the rst night; she used herrst gavel when she was Pre-miere Speaker of the House. Shetook that rst gavel to Spanishclass when “I had to give a pre-sentation about an object that ismeaningful to me,” Simpson said.

Using a gavel is a uniquefeeling. “I feel very powerful, butI also feel like I’m helping peopleunderstand and debate better,”said Simpson. To the students ofKYA, the gavel has come to rep-resent democracy, the power thatthey have, and the future theyare creating.

Go For It!

Bluegrass

January 16-18,2016

Cumberland Falls

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