Sophomore Kai Poon from Colonie Central High School has been selected to participate in the esteemed Students Inside Albany program, an initiative organized by the League of Women Voters (LWV). The program aims to educate high school students about the legislative process and encourage civic engagement. Poon will be attending the program from May 19-22, representing both CCHS and the wider Colonie community.

This week, we had the privilege of sitting down with Poon to delve deeper into their motivations for applying to participate in this opportunity.

Q&A

How do you feel about this unique opportunity?

I’m very excited to be participating in the Students Inside Albany program this year! I’m honored to be accepted into this program as I didn’t expect to be at all. I love going out to explore new ideas and places, especially when that involves learning about the world and systems around me, such as the government. The possibilities are always endless and this program can open so many new doors for me! 

What inspired you to apply for this program in the first place?

To be honest, the first time I heard of Students Inside Albany was from my current history teacher Ms. Lasky. I’m currently pursuing the Seal of Civic Readiness, and I heard that this program can help me with getting the credits to obtain that. Plus, the interest meeting which shared what students typically do at this program did a great job at luring me in! They included details such as going to the capitol, observing legislators and senators, and shadowing them as well; all of which are things that I never thought I had a chance of doing at my age!

Could you walk us through the application process? Were there any specific aspects you emphasized in your application?

All I did in my application, besides the necessary sheet with my personal information, was write an essay about myself which Ms. Lasky submitted for me. I basically just advertised myself by sharing my extracurricular activities, current endeavors, and experiences I’ve had in my life that make me stand out. This includes being a first generation queer Chinese teen who craves something fresh and new to do every day. I personally think my essay was pretty simple though, but only as easy as telling a life story in two pages.

Given the program's emphasis on educating students about the legislative process and promoting civic engagement, how do you anticipate this experience will influence your understanding of government and your involvement in civic activities?

My parents didn’t migrate here with lots of civic knowledge of the United States, so I’m sure this program will teach me lots of important concepts regarding government, law, and anything civic here. I trust in the ability of the League of Women Voters to be able to educate me! All of the women who are involved in helping students during this program are professionals involved in the law or other legalities. They plan on educating us and making us better citizens and better at civic participation because that’s their goal for this program, so I trust that I’ll learn a lot here!

Do you have any specific goals or expectations you've set for yourself during your participation in the program?

My goal is to be able to exit the hotel on the last day feeling accomplished and with way more connections than I did when I first got to the hotel. I want to have tried out lobbying, which is essentially talking to a legislator about a bill. It’d also be awesome if I become knowledgeable about how to connect with committee members and whatnot in order to participate more civically after this program and be able to make more of a difference. I hope that throughout the duration of the conference, I’ll be able to make lots of new friends and make myself known to lots of technically important people as well!

What do you aspire to bring back to Colonie Central High School and your community following your involvement in Students Inside Albany?

Currently, I’m involved with a Civic Capstone project by the Food Waste Education and Reduction Team which involves reducing waste around our community and educating as many as possible on how to reduce, reuse, and recycle! The team’s participated in a lot of meetings about logistics because what we’re trying to do isn’t just creating a club, but creating a change. That’s sort of like passing a bill; this program gets a bit into the nitty-gritty of law enforcement and the skills taught can apply to any program with organized management. I hope that I can use civic skills that I learn from here in this project and future projects too.

Lastly, what advice would you offer to fellow students who may be interested in applying for similar programs in the future?

Promote yourself like you’re trying to get people to buy a product. Show off all your experience through your application and remember that everything can be some type of experience if you can write it that way. My more general advice: don’t stress and just be yourself when applying. It may sound really optimistic, but generally things will eventually work out the way you lead it to be, intentional or not. Trying your best to be honest with yourself and others is the key! And remember to not push or pressure yourself too much to the point where failure isn’t welcomed the way it should be.