Teen Advisory Board: My Experience

Teen+Advisory+Board%3A+My+Experience

Eryn Broshar

As a seventh grader, I was shy and didn’t speak up unless I had to. My social anxiety was awful until I joined Teen Advisory Board in seventh grade. TAB is a group of teens brought together by ACCORD to develop youth leadership skills. I remember my first meeting and making friends with everyone in the room. I had never gone out of my way to do this in any other situation, but it just felt right when I first got there. TAB has done amazing things for me and I’m eternally grateful. Without it, I would have never met some of my very best friends.

I am a different person today because of TAB. The best thing TAB gave me was teaching me that my voice is important and that I deserve to be heard. We have conducted homelessness awareness events, soup kitchens, events to support animal shelters, youth summits, lock ins, and many more events that have helped our county and individual communities. I’ve seen kids who are mostly quiet come completely out of their shell in TAB. I’ve seen kids who struggle to make friends in their schools  become the social butterfly of TAB. I’ve seen kids look at ACCORD staff for advice more than they look to their parents. Most importantly, every TAB member I’ve encountered has been positively changed by the group and always has something amazing to say about it.

On the Facebook page, members were asked to describe their experience with the group. Savannah Lee, a former member from Alfred-Almond, stated that “being a part of the Teen Advisory Board was the first time I felt I was able to step up and take leadership roles.” Shawn Serra from Canaseraga explained that TAB helped him become a role model for younger students and overcome personal battles. While many students are voicing why they think TAB is important, many community members throughout the county are also speaking up. On a status update regarding the loss of funding, JoAnne White said: “Such a sad situation. Allegany County needs these programs!”

I am absolutely heartbroken to see not only my favorite program, but also many different youth service programs lose funding. I’m very sad to see so many youth mentors out of a job. Thank you all for years of fun and I am so sorry that it has come to an end.