Answer Governor’s call to prepare students for future leadership roles
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (February 25, 2014) – Responding to a recent call-to-action from Governor Andrew Cuomo, members of the Niagara Falls City Council and the Niagara County Legislature are collaborating on a government internship program for Niagara Falls High School students. Set to kick off this spring, the program will provide Falls teens with an up-close view of how local government works.
In his presentation of Governor Cuomo’s proposed 2014 budget back in January, Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy took time to meet and talk with government students from Niagara Falls High School. The conversation that followed between Duffy, Niagara Falls City Councilwoman Kristen Grandinetti and Niagara County Legislator Jason Zona led to the local legislators taking the lead on establishing the program.
Zona, who has served on the County Legislature since 2011, worked with Grandinetti to craft an internship program for the City Council that is based on the program currently in use by the Legislature. The Council will coordinate with Niagara Falls High School, who will identify interested students.
Niagara County Legislator Jason Zona: “The Governor has expressed his commitment to keeping young people involved in the political process. We completely agree. If our local high school students are able to see how government works and get involved in the process at an early age, it will benefit our city by promoting civic engagement and by helping these young people to realize that they can put down roots in our community and be a part of making it a better place.”
Niagara Falls City Councilwoman Kristen Grandinetti: “We’ve been discussing the merits of an internship program for some time. The City Council is now more committed than ever to making sure that city government is transparent and open to the people of Niagara Falls, and the time is right for a partnership like this one to move forward. Giving our high school students a first-hand look at city government will help prepare them to take leadership roles in the future.”
The program will allow students to shadow City Council members at legislative meetings and community events and will culminate in a mock legislative meeting where the students will present ideas to the Council members on issues they feel are important to the city of Niagara Falls.
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