Sparwood students urge stronger youth voice to council

Grade 12 students from Sparwood Secondary School presented capstone projects to Sparwood council Tuesday night, calling for stronger youth representation in local decision making, better support for coaches and improved access to training spaces.

Teacher Stephan Larsen told council the capstone program gives students an opportunity to pursue topics they are passionate about and demonstrate skills developed in school and in the community. He said students were asked to explain how they chose their topic, what they did for their project and suggest ways council or the community could support projects like theirs.

Carly Rusnak said her project focused on bringing people together to support the community, particularly youth, based on her experience in school sports leadership and fundraising. She said she saw a gap between groups that need support, such as school programs and students, and those who can provide support.

“One meaningful way Council can support this is by having a student representative be involved in Council,” Rusnak said, adding a student advocate could provide insight into youth needs and improve communication.

Councillor John Baher asked whether existing initiatives were enough, referencing Youth Action Sparwood. Rusnak said she felt “having a student representative to be a part of Council would be a great idea.”

Hailey Podrasky spoke about youth sports, specifically volleyball, and described how her capstone work aimed to improve the experience of female athletes. She said she ran a volleyball camp, worked with Grade 7 and 8 students on teamwork and cohesion and later provided a prep session for Grade 9 and 10 players heading to zones. She also out-lined ideas for council support, including promoting coaching education, improving facility access and helping publicize youth fundraising.

“We don’t have a lot of gyms in Sparwood,” Podrasky said, adding that access to school gyms is difficult and can limit development.

Councillor Atwal raised facility access issues including training room and weight room access, and Podrasky said both gym time and broader healthy facility opportunities matter. 

“We actually have a weight room at the school and struggle to get in it,” Podrasky said.

Chase Devine and Owen Bruce presented on the Design Hub program, describing it as a way for students to develop professional media design skills, including posters, pamphlets, clothing design, social media work and operating the school athletics YouTube channel with livestreams and recorded games.

They asked council for support through connections to people with skills in other areas of design, information about grants they may qualify for and help promoting the program so it can reach more clients.

Councillor Jason Christensen suggested the program could be involved in future work around community branding, rather than relying on outside firms. Councillor Atwal asked what was hardest to learn, and the students pointed to client communication, criticism, time management and professional email practices.

Council members thanked the students and asked Mr. Larson to share copies of materials such as action plans with district staff so the ideas could be considered within future discussions.

Residents who want to support student initiatives can follow school and community group announcements and attend council meetings when youth related items are scheduled.