“We are a dedicated group of young adults working to improve our community and learning how to be successful citizens; teaching that all people, no matter how young, have roles to play in leading the community.” These words, spoken by McCaskey Junior Destiny Ponce at the November 10 Lancaster City Council meeting, perfectly sum up the mission and purpose of the McCaskey Neighborhood Leaders Academy.

The NLA is a group of McCaskey students that was formed in early 2020 by the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Engagement. The goal of the organization is to get students involved in local government and play a role in improving their communities. 

Prior to the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, the group of students visited the Police Station and met with police officers as a part of the Community and Police working group. 

“It’s important for the police to hear the community and the voices of the youth,” said Ashley Bombin. Though she shared with the council that she has had some difficult experiences with police officers in the past, Ashley admitted that it was refreshing to talk to them face to face.  “Police officers, even though they give off the impression of being completely different, they are, in fact, human.” 

In addition to learning about our community, the NLA gives students the opportunity to work on projects to improve Lancaster City. The first project set into action, students explained, was the Essentials Kits project. Through the project, the NLA put together over 400 kits with hand soap, toothbrushes and other essential items and gave them to the seniors at Church Street towers.

“This project, for us as students, gave us the ability to connect and unify with our senior citizen community,” said Sandra Soliman, a McCaskey senior and the NLA’s resident photographer. She described how students wore masks and formed socially-distanced assembly lines to fill and then deliver the kits. “We were able to put our plan in action, and put it in a bag and place it on trucks to help other people. It felt good to make someone else’s day.”

The NLA has at least one future project planned: a tree planting memorial to commemorate those lost due to Coronavirus. 

“At the end of the day, people in the future are not going to understand how big of a change COVID-19 made in our daily lives.” Said Julia Bouder, a McCaskey Junior. “This is a good way to acknowledge the change and support the environment and community.”

The NLA received extremely positive reception from members of city council, many of whom are alumni of J.P. McCaskey High School or parents of McCaskey students. 

Councilor Amanda Bakay expressed her gratitude for the hope that youth leaders such as the NLA provide for the community, adding, “Any time I get the chance to speak to students, specifically from JP McCaskey, I’m always blown away.”

City Councilor and McCaskey alumnus Jaime Arroyo concluded by urging students to stay involved in their communities, “continue to participate, and run for something!”