Middle Schooler Interviews U.S. Surgeon General

Project Citizen is the capstone project St. Andrew’s 8th graders complete during the spring of their final year at St. Andrew’s Middle School. During the culminating project, students are responsible for choosing an issue that is important to them within their community. Students then conduct research and interview individuals with extensive knowledge on their topic to become better informed. After this, they brainstorm solutions or improvements for their issue and share these with the community during the Civics Fair in Dell Hall.

Luke W. '26 chose The Effects of Social Media on Youth Mental Health as his topic for Project Citizen because he had noticed that mental health was an issue that many of his classmates were dealing with on a day-to-day basis, while also observing the amount of time spent on social media among his friends, making him wonder if there was a correlation. “I was curious if they had a connection so I started researching. I basically started all this for my friends/schools well being, including my own.”

One day, while doing research for his project during study hall, Luke decided to reach out to Dr. Vivek Murthy, the United States Surgeon General, requesting an interview about his topic. Luke did some research and found Dr. Murthy's email address, and decided to send a quick message. Luke knew this was a bit of a long shot, and never thought he’d ever hear back from Dr. Murthy, much less get the opportunity to sit down and speak with him. Not long after Luke sent his email, Mrs. Nezzer reached out to Luke and his family, letting them know that they had heard from Dr. Murthy's office. His team had received Luke's email and was excited about his Project Citizen topic. They let Luke know that Dr. Murthy would be in Austin in the coming months and wanted to sit down and talk with Luke about his project.

Luke W. '26 at his meeting with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.

In early March, Luke met with Dr. Murthy to ask him some questions about his thoughts on the effects of social media on young people and in return Dr. Murthy asked Luke some questions about his own screen time and social media use. “Interviewing the Surgeon General was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was really nervous before the interview because I had no idea what to expect.” Luke said “Dr. Murthy is actually a super chill, laid back guy and we really got along. It was super fun.”

Reflecting on his project and what he learned, Luke wants everyone, but especially kids his age, to understand how impactful social media can be and how important it is to learn how to use it responsibly. “I learned that this issue is barely talked about even though we use social media all the time. It's very important to at least have a conversation and learn about it before you do whatever you want. I'm a very different person after learning what social media does to my mental health, and I think everyone should know too!”

When asked if there was anything else Luke wanted to share about his experience, this is what he had to say: “I just want to say that your voice is important. No matter your age, skin tone, ability, etc. Your opinion matters in the world. Learn as much as you can and inspire others. If you do great things, that energy will circulate back to you. It's very rewarding.”