Collier high school students inspired by county government experience

April 27, 2023

BY INGRID ECHEMENDIA AND SUE SAVAGE
Special to Florida Weekly

Over 20 years ago, high school student Amy Patterson from St. John Neumann High School joined Know Your County Government (KYCG), a program conducted by the Collier County League of Women Voters, 4-H Youth Development, and Collier County Public Schools. The program took students to various County agencies and departments so they could better understand how their community and local government works.

Ms. Patterson joined because she was curious about how the business of government was conducted: how laws are made, how policies are formed, and the process for putting them into action. Patterson’s favorite part of KYCG was meeting the County Manager. “I thought it was such a cool job!” she muses. Ms. Patterson still thinks it’s a pretty cool job, especially because today she is the County Manager.

After 40+ years in operation, the KYCG program is going stronger than ever. In fact, this year’s cohort of 45 students was almost double the number of previous years. The program objectives are twofold: cultivating an understanding of the importance of county services in residents’ everyday lives and exposing students to the wide range of career paths for high school graduates in county government.

This year students visited 16 County departments including the Tax Collector, Sherriff’s department, Domestic Animal Services, Collier Area Transit, Supervisor of Elections, Wastewater, Solid Waste, and the Health Department. Ingrid Echemendia, a student at Golden Gate High School, says that many of the participating students had never seen or heard of some of the departments. “CCPS has done a great job of introducing us to community representatives through guest speakers and career fairs,” she explains, “but the social studies curriculum doesn’t have enough space to get down to the details about what local governments are like.” Echemendia, who intends to study journalism and political science, feels that the experience was eye-opening.

The Emergency Operations Center was a particularly intriguing visit as students got a chance to talk to the people behind the scenes who described the intense, fast-paced environment of responding to the ever-changing critical needs, coordinating and tapping into the vast local, state, and federal resources and agencies during and after Hurricane Ian. In another area of EOC, students watched from a second-floor gallery, transfixed, as 911 operators fielded calls in a state-of-the-art environment of signal lights and screens indicating operator availabilities and geographic locations of callers. Students were intrigued to learn that EOC hires 18-year-olds fresh out of high school and provides all the training necessary.

At the courthouse, students found themselves seated in the courtroom, witnessing a contentious defendant on trial for drug possession. The relief was audible when the judge, attorneys, and “defendant” revealed that it was a mock trial for the students’ benefit. Barron Collier student Bella Johnson enjoyed the rare opportunity to talk to Judge Tamara Lynne Nicola about her ambition to be an attorney. Johnson says that visiting the courtroom cemented her interest in becoming a lawyer and opened her eyes to the possibility of one day becoming a judge. Johnson also appreciated the visit to the Supervisor of Elections where students got to go through the entire voting process with a mock ballot. “It’s so important to vote,” she comments. “Everyone has a voice and it’s important to voice your opinion and concerns especially if you want change to happen in your society around you.”

Tiana Vachara, another Barron Collier student, says that while she has already decided upon a career as a family medicine doctor, the program provided her with “insight on the qualities of a great leader as well as ways I can utilize the government in my planned career. It provides a great experience to learn about local leaders and the government as well as networking opportunities.”

While some students are clear on their career paths, others, such as County Manager Patterson, find their way by exploring. “I started working with the county as a job bank employee, which is where you get assigned to positions on a temporary basis, filling in when someone is on leave or a position is temporarily vacant,” she explained. “Within the county there is every type of job imaginable from animal keeper to construction, and once you start working here you get to see all the other types of jobs that are possible. The county provides training and education to help you move along in your career, and there are so many job paths that you never would have even considered.”

More about the program visits is available on the League of Women Voters website, www.lwvcolliercounty.org. Students who wish to participate in next year’s program should contact their Social Sciences teacher or school counselor.