America depends on the youth of its nation to lead

BY CHUCK TUCK | JOURNAL REPORTER Lake Stevens High School Junior represents Washington State at National Guard Symposium Some people say that leaders are born, while others will tell you that becoming a leader is an acquired skill.

No matter who or what makes a great leader, that leader must also make an effort to better themselves and the community or organization in which they intend on serving.

In the case of Kelsey Matsuzaki, a junior at Lake Stevens High School, leadership comes naturally.

Matsuzaki’s father is a Master Sgt. with the 215th Engineering Installation Squadron at Paine Field in Everett. That is what spurred the interest Matsuzaki has for aeronautical engineering which she spoke of last year at Cavelero Mid High.

“I am still interested in taking the path to becoming an Aeronautical Engineer and am currently in my second year of the Pre-Engineering class offered at Lake Stevens High School,” she said.

Recently Matsuzaki represented Washington State at the National Guard Youth Symposium.

“The National Symposium, which was held in St. Louis, Missouri, and consisted of two delegates from each state and U.S. Territory,” Matsuzaki said.

Each delegate participated in team building and leadership activities by attending seminars presented by motivational speakers.  

Her territory consists of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Eastern Washington.

The leadership building is taught to the delegates as a plan to help the direction of youth councils, according to Matsuzaki. She also worked closely with the representatives in her territory on building better communication outside of the symposium and encouraged the idea of sharing goals and thoughts.

When it comes to serving a community and being involved in an organization, Matsuzaki could not be more proud than to be a part of the Youth National Guard and feels that it is important for youth to be involved in any good organization.

“As a military dependent, being involved with this organization has given me a better understanding of my dad’s role with the military and being involved with other youth has also given me an opportunity to relate to other kids my age who deal with deployment and other issues that come with being a military dependent,” Matsuzaki said.

She is also a Junior Public Affairs Officer and Historian for the Western Washington National Guard Youth Council. Both of these positions require that Matsuzaki attend meetings and report on upcoming events.
“I write articles on events, oversee and maintain a publicity committee and maintain a state calendar of events for the council,” she said.

This included coordinating with the Eastern Washington Youth Council as well.

Matsuzaki encourages youth to get involved in their community to seek out and take advantage of the many opportunities that are available to them.

blog comments powered by Disqus