Students witness inner workings of government
More than 70 local high school students got an up-close look at how their local government works during Youth in Government Day at Costa Mesa City Hall on Friday.
During the roughly four-hour event, students from Costa Mesa, Estancia and Early College high schools met with employees and department heads to discuss the work that goes into running the city.
“They might usually drive by City Hall but not know what we do, so the goal is to give them an in-depth look at the different departments and how they function and hopefully inspire them to maybe pursue a career in local government or run for elected office someday,” said Ashley Garcia, a management analyst for the city.
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Just as the students went to City Hall to learn more about their government, Mayor Katrina Foley said the city wants to hear more from local youths.
She urged the 78 students who attended the event to tell city staff “what things we could do for you, what else you want to see for your age group in the city. We really do want to know.”
Mayor Pro Tem Sandy Genis said she hoped attendees came away inspired to get more involved in their community.
“I’m really glad to see this many young people interested in government, and while it’s unlikely that all of you will actually be government employees or government officials, as citizens of our city you’re part of the government, and I would love to see all of you continue to participate,” she told the assembled students.
During the event, students broke into smaller groups to learn more about different sectors of City Hall.
Each student met with representatives from three of the following departments: Communications and Marketing, Development Services, Fire & Rescue, Parks and Community Services, Police and Public Services.
City staffers provided overviews of what each of the departments does and staged activities for the students. Public services employees, for instance, showed off heavy equipment vehicles as well as the city’s system for monitoring traffic lights.
Students seemed particularly interested in the closed-circuit cameras that Costa Mesa uses for real-time monitoring of some intersections.
“Little do they know they’re being watched by a bunch of students,” one visitor joked as she looked at the video feed.
The Communications and Marketing team had attendees make up their own mock schedules for social media posting, while the Police Department provided an overview of the arrest and booking process.
Betsy Avila, a 16-year-old junior at Costa Mesa High School, said her favorite was the Fire & Rescue Department’s demonstration, which included a show-and-tell of firefighting equipment and physical team challenges.
“It provided me insight on how Costa Mesa departments work as a whole,” she said of the event. “They’re very busy people. They constantly have a lot of things to do, all the time.”
Avila admitted it was “a little bit intimidating at first” to visit City Hall, which she had never done before.
“But then I saw how they really care about the citizens and Costa Mesa,” she said.
Another Costa Mesa junior, 17-year-old Hunter Westbrook, said he’s interested in government and wanted to get a firsthand look at how Costa Mesa does things.
What stood out to him is how closely Costa Mesa’s work intersects with other cities in California.
“I thought we were kind of just one city that did their own things,” he said.
“I think it’s very valuable,” he said of the event. “I think this should definitely be a field trip for future classes.”
The event concluded with lunch on the City Hall lawn and remarks by Police Chief Rob Sharpnack, who shared his personal journey from highly touted baseball prospect to public safety officer.
During that time, Sharpnack said, he learned values like personal discipline, preparation, teamwork and humility — and urged attending students to recognize the importance of those standards as well.
“No matter what you do in life, know that you have to give it your best each and every day,” he said. “You’re going to find it better suits you. It puts you in a position where you won’t give up — and you never will give up in life.”
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
