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Two years from now I was invited to go to a conference about child poverty, to share my feelings, my frustrations, to learn about what other youth of my age thought and much more. At first I wasn't sure why my friends and I wanted to go to this event. " Well, why should I be one of these 200 youth? " I asked myself. I understood the conference as a place where everyone went to voice out their concerns and everyone helps to find a solution (about child poverty). I was still unsure about the whole thing but I applied. I had the opportunity to go so I took it. When I got there I was really shy but I didn't stay that way for long. I surprisingly had a lot of things to say about the topic. I didn't want to go back home and I made sure that I had said everything I had on my mind. That experience was so good that I decided to stay involved with The Students Commission.

Steven's picture of parliament

For me The Students Commission is not an organization but an environment. An environment where people come and bring their ideas even when they have to face people who judge them for what they think, how they dress or just because they are different. It's about finding a youth voice and not just doing it for show. It's actually about believing that youth have a voice, giving them some place to express themselves, to listen to them and make them feel like they can make a difference. It's about support , networking and fun. It's about creating an environment to teach young people that they deserve to be heard... to show them how great they are and how amazing they can be, it's about finding strength in each other and using each other as resources... That is what I think The Students Commission is all about.

Sometimes when people think about their future, it's really difficult for them to think too far in life. The reason why I'm saying this is because sometimes I think it's hard to know where you'll be and there are a lot of things that you can't really prevent , it happens anyway. In the future I would like to see The Students Commission (SC) as a role model, a place everyone on the street could refer to when they talk about an organization for youth by youth. I would like SC to run bigger events with more people. I think that a lot more people could get something from the workshops or conferences that SC holds. The Students Commission is a place where it's OK to to be who you are. It's a place where you have the right to be young and let's them know that they are not alone in their problems. Well, I hope SC becomes a type of role model for other countries and stuff... this youth empowerment shouldn't be a novel idea, it should just become the way things are.

Steven and his crew

I heard from Sarah (our editor) that TG was looking to fill a summer contract job that required knowledge of html. I signed up, and got hired. After that contract was done, I was asked to stay on in a technical position, making websites, technical support, all that stuff. The Students Commission is allowing me to live my dream... doing something I love and getting paid for it. I've only had a few jobs in my life, but I know that it is NEVER worth it to do something you hate. I think SC is exactly what it needs and wants to be right now. Internationally known youth organization that kicks ass n' stuff. Seriously though, as far as I'm concerned SC is doing what it wants to do very well.

In 1998 I was standing in my high school guidance office, looking for guidance naturally, when I found a poster advertising a conference. It promised me a great time in the nation's capital and a chance to meet funky people. I figured I really had nothing to lose by simply sending in the application. To my surprise I was accepted and in August I spent the most amazing 5 days of my life with The Students Commission in Kemptville, Ontario.

Sharing Resources 2000, the child poverty conference not only met its promises it exceeded them. The conference not only opened my eyes to social injustices in Canada it caused me to change a great deal. When I returned to St. John's, Newfoundland I became actively involved in helping those that lacked resources. I also began involving many other youth within in my school and community in the fight to end child poverty. Little did I know, the skills I had been using to develop community action projects were transferable and could improve all the other areas of my life such as my school work and the relationships I had with everyone around me. Over the years I've worked with various forms of media, learned how to research and deliver facts, give presentations, public speak, prepare a report, work on a team, and most importantly I learned how to be an effective leader. The Students Commission recognized these skills and gave me chance to put them to good use and develop them further as a member of their staff.

As a team member I get to help other youth experience The Students Commission through our website, personal communication and annual conferences. If I'm ever faced with a problem I know that I have an amazing staff behind me. Each of us are very unique and have different skills and opinions that can be used to help one another out in times of need.

Currently I embarking on a degree in Health Education. I hope to use the skills I learn through my four years in University to improve the work I do with The Students Commission and perhaps to create and develop projects from some of my own thoughts and ideas. I hope to offer youth who were like myself during high school the opportunity to find out what it is that they're good at and give them the chance to apply these things in a real life setting.