Student Spotlight: David Young

Writer / Matt Keating
Photography Provided

David Young, a Westfield student, is looking forward to his duties to celebrate Hamilton County’s 200th anniversary.

“I attend Westfield High School as a current junior and rising senior, and I am one of the 11 students serving as a bicentennial ambassador for Hamilton County’s 200th Anniversary,” Young says. “The Bicentennial program allows like-minded high school students interested in learning about the history of Hamilton County and local community development to engage in a plethora of different learning opportunities to expand their knowledge of their community.”

As ambassadors, their goal is to share their love for history with others in their community.

“With our participation each city will host a community discussion on a topic relative to that specific area,” Young says. “Throughout the month of June, the Hamilton County Bicentennial program will host multiple signature events in Westfield, ranging from a pancake breakfast and concert on June 2 at Grand Junction Plaza to activities based on Westfield’s Barker Cabin with the Westfield Historical Society.”

Young has enjoyed talking to a wide variety of people about the bicentennial.

“My key responsibility as an ambassador is to continue my learning, and have informed conversations with my peers about topics of history and politics, and how they currently affect us as community members,” Young says. “Being a part of this program has been an honor and I hope to continue my learning further.”

In order to become a Hamilton County Bicentennial ambassador, Young submitted an application answering questions such as, “What makes one a leader?” and “What is the primary role of elected officials?”

“The ambassadorship has been extremely fun so far,” Young says. “After being accepted into the program, the ambassadors were invited to take a tour across Hamilton County and learn about the history of different communities. The tour was extremely interactive, and learning from historians and authors such as David Heighway and Brenda Myers was highly engaging. Our facilitator, Jessica Layman, has made the program extremely fun and it has been a blast so far. I am especially looking forward to the events being held in Westfield in June.”

Young is also involved in his schools’ Black Student Union where he currently serves as co-president with Jason Lottie, a senior.

“Leading the Black Student Union has been milestone of my high school career,” he says. “I’ve been able to empower black students, create a safe space for marginalized students, and more importantly, create bonds and friendships with different people throughout the club,” Young says. “As co-president I have been responsible for meeting with the high school administration to discuss common concerns of marginalized students, offer learning and field trip opportunities for club members, and even create a scholarship fund for our graduating students.”

Young was also selected this year to be one of Westfield High School’s Hoosier Boys State delegates.

“This program focuses on teaching young men about not only the importance of government, but also the role of government too,” Young says. “We’ll be able to learn about the election process through running for different government positions, with the highest being the Hoosiers Boys State governor program. I’ll be attending that program over the summer.”

Young has also been a part of his school’s Speech and Debate team, focusing on competing in Public Forum Debate and Congressional Debate.

“I’d previously done Public Forum Debate for most of my debater career, but this season I switched to Congressional Debate and ended my season as a national qualifier to the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona,” Young says. “I was one of two students who won national qualification for Congressional Debate within our district. I’ve also had the honor to be a board member of the Westfield Education Foundation through the ACTS board.”