Susan Wu was a high school junior when, last year, she learned that New York State had passed a bill allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to join their local community boards.
Intrigued, Susan, who lives in New York City, did some online research and learned that board members act as advocates for their neighborhoods. They advise on issues ranging from how land should be used to how the city’s funds should be allocated.
“I realized that this is a way for people who are passionate about their community to come together—and I wanted to be a part of it,” says Susan, now 17 and a senior. She applied for a spot and was one of 19 teens selected from across the city. She’ll serve a one-year unpaid term.
The issue she cares about most? Making sure her neighborhood—whose population has tripled since 2000, to an estimated 65,000 residents—doesn’t lose its unique character.
The area is rapidly gentrifying, meaning that it’s seeing a lot of rebuilding—and property prices are rising—as more, and wealthier, people move there. While such growth can be good, it can also have a downside: Longtime residents and businesses may have a hard time affording higher rents. For example, Susan says, a local retail complex recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation, and luxury shops replaced some of its more affordable stores.
“I want the community to be heard and not drowned out by businesses,” says Susan.
Though she doesn’t plan on a political career (more likely: finance or engineering), Susan says the skills she’s learning on the board—teamwork, leadership, communication—are ones she’ll undoubtedly need in any field. The experience has already taught her a valuable lesson: “Whatever you have an interest in, jump for the opportunity to learn more about it.”