The Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council is a council made up of 25 high school students from each city township and multiple schools. Their goal is to advise Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and the city government on issues that impact youth and help find ways to improve their communities.

Four NC students were chosen to be a part of the council: Lilly Conner, Lizzie Koschnick, Nya Malott and Azjareth Hernandez. 

The definition of the MYLC is stated on the Indy.gov website, however both Conner and Koschnick have their own ideas of what the council means to them.

“I think the youth council for me has been a way to get more involved with the city government and work on projects that are more impactful to me,” Conner said.

Conner is an environmentalist and has been working on projects with the Earth Club to help with climate change. She plans to join the Climate Sustainability Committee in the MYLC and work on projects that not only incorporate the efforts she has already made in her club, but also expand to the community.

Koschnick has plans of joining the Unhoused Youth Committee and has been a member of the council for two years now.

“To me it’s a way to partner with other peers that are my age. Kind of expands my perspective and I get ideas about my city through talking with other people. That’s what I like the best about it… being with people I admire,” Koschnick said.

Koschnick participated in the creation of a clothing drive in the MYLC that had an unexpectedly good turn out. 

“I realized that people notice when you do that kind of thing and it was a nice way to help other people contribute to their community in some kind of way,” Koschnick said.

She hopes to be a catalyst and help other people contribute to their community and learn more about it. 

Conner and Koschnick both hope to have a career in politics and learn more about city government. Their goals for the committee involve creating far-reaching, impactful projects and building up a network that will give them a good head start in the political world. 

“It’s hard being a woman in politics and women have so many barriers within the political world because it’s so male-dominated. I feel like starting early and gaining those things on my resume and gaining those important skills about how the government works and how I can get my voice heard effectively is going to really help me gain an equal footing with my male counterparts,” Conner said.

Koschnick’s mom works for the city government and she has always wanted to learn more about the role she can play in creating change for her community.

Koschnick and Conner both have advice that will help future MYLC applicants be accepted into the council.

“Be you. Be authentic in your application. It’s such a diverse group of people from so many different backgrounds and so many different interests that I feel like LaMarr Davis, who is the person in charge right now, really does value everyone’s perspective and he seeks out individuality. So I think just as long as you show your unique spark, they really like that,” Conner said.

“Stay true to your own beliefs and what you know. Don’t try to change yourself to get in because, what [Conner] said, they’re looking for individuality,” Koschnick said.

Director of Youth Outreach LaMarr Davis seeks out perspectives from all walks of life. His goal is to create a council that best represents the concerns and needs of the younger generations of Indianapolis. 

Conner and Koschnick recommend joining the committee with goals and ambitions for the city. To apply to the council, search Indy.gov’s Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council and apply for the 2023-24 council by April 30. 

Caption for picture: Lilly Conner (right) and Lizzie Koschnick (left) are both members of the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council. Their committees are Climate Sustainability and Unhoused Youth, respectively.