Seventeen year old Jordan McFaull will not be able to vote in any elections this year, but that did not stop him from organizing an assembly for his high school about the value of civic education and being engaged in the election process.
McFaull, a junior at Beechwood High School, approached Principal Glen Miller about asking Secretary of State Trey Grayson to come and speak to the students about community and civic involvement.
"I thought it was a great idea," Miller said. "When Jordan asked me if he could try to work it out, I wasn't about to tell him 'no.'"
McFaull said he contacted Grayson about speaking to his high school because he said Grayson has a reputation for engaging young people in civic education and the democratic process.
"A lot of students here at Beechwood have the potential, and want to be involved in their communities. We have a burgeoning population for political involvement," McFaull said.
McFaull said he would like to be involved in politics in some capacity, such as international diplomacy, or political science, eventually ending up working for federal government.
Grayson, a product of the Kenton County schools and graduate of Dixie Heights High School, recalled the last time he was at Beechwood High School.
"Dixie only won five basketball games that year, and one of them was against Beechwood," Grayson said to a laughing audience on Monday, Feb. 27. "I didn't receive the warm welcome then that I have today."
Grayson shared several key points of involvement for students, and encouraged them to take action. He talked to the students about reading the newspapers and looking on various Web sites to find out what is going on in their communities, registering to vote and actually voting, and asking a lot of questions.
The most powerful piece of advice Grayson said he had to offer was for students to think for themselves, and not be afraid of how their parents, teachers and coaches might react.
He commended students like Jordan McFaull for taking the initiative to realize opportunities and ideas.
A question and answer session followed, where students asked a range of questions from Grayson's favorite ice cream flavor, to asking about cuts in education funding, budget inequities within the state, bi-partisanship politics in Kentucky and Grayson's future political plans.
Planning to run for re-election in 2007, Grayson said he has thought about running for the Senate in 2010 or Governor in 2011.
Grayson continued to stress the importance of education of young people and their involvement. "This is not a Republican initiative, this isn't a Democratic initiative, this is a Kentucky initiative," he said.
At the end of the assembly, McFaull presented Grayson with a Beechwood Tiger's T-shirt, which Grayson accepted with a smile.
Students filing out of the assembly offered congratulatory pats on the back and arm to McFaull for organizing the assembly.
"We'll definitely see Jordan running for office some day," Principal Miller said. "He's a great kid, we're very proud."
Lynnette Guzzino, McFaull's mother, also attended the assembly.
"You hope your children will take an interest in what is around them," she said. "I am very proud of what he has done. He has the talent and the interest to improve himself and give back to his community and state."
McFaull was one of two students selected to give a graduation address at the graduation ceremony of the Junior Statesmen School summer program at Stanford University in July 2005.
For more information, visit www.beechwood.k12.ky.us.