Youth in Government Day

Photo taken at the 2019 Youth in Government Day and does not depict current social distancing and other health safety protocols.

On Thursday, October 29th the San Joaquin County Office of Education and County Board of Supervisors hosted a virtual version of their annual “Youth in Government Day”, which provides an opportunity for high school students to learn what it is like to work for local government. While this event is traditionally held in person, with a job-shadow schedule, this year it was conducted via Zoom with students from six local high schools hearing presentations from five different departments.

Departments that were represented include Probation, District Attorney’s Office, Child Support Services, Sherriff’s Office, and Public Works. Students were able to engage and ask various questions relating to presenters’ level of education, favorite parts of the job, and how to earn internships.

Eleven students from Sierra High School participated in the event, representing a variety of interests.

Senior Amrit Bhinder, who’s interested in a career in Healthcare, took particular interest during the presentation from Child Protective Services. Amrit stated, “During the event I took notes about all five departments and what their main focuses are within the community. My future career aspirations are to become a pediatrician, but if medical school does not work out, I still want a career that involves working with children, such as a job working for CPS.”

Junior Hailey Lindauer focused on the presentation by the San Joaquin County Sherriff’s Department. “I enjoyed listening to multiple people in law enforcement talk about what they do for a living, and how they got to where they were,” Hailey stated. “While I did not get to shadow anyone in the Sherriff’s Office due to the event being virtual, I hope to eventually participate in a ride-along with a police officer so I can get more information on how to become one. I am interested in learning as much as I can, as I hope to be a K-9 unit officer or a trainer for the K-9 unit in the future.”

For Junior Amin Bynes, the presentation by the District Attorney’s Office was particularly compelling. “Although we could not job-shadow due to coronavirus protocols this year, if I could, I would have chosen to shadow an attorney. I am interested in the field of law, mostly because I want to be able to stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves and help obtain justice,” Amin stated. “The more I heard from the District Attorney's Office during their presentation, the more it made me appreciate that law is like a puzzle – and I love figuring out how the pieces of our government fit into law, and vice-versa.”

San Joaquin County students signed up for “Youth in Government Day” through their school site counselor or were recommended by a teacher. Despite the virtual nature of this year’s event, 2020’s “Youth in Government Day” was a huge success thanks to the hard-working and knowledgeable departments that participated.