Southwest student learns ropes of politics in Youth Legislature

Samantha Ostrovsky got into in politics the same way many others do.

She had connections.

When a slot opened in District 11 of the Youth Legislature, the Southwest Career and Technical Academy student wanted to try something different.

“I wasn’t really a big politics, government type of person, but I wanted to give it a try because it’s important for young teens to actually understand the process and what (senators) do,” said the 17-year-old junior.

Although the two-year Youth Legislature term had already begun, Senate Majority Leader Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas, suggested to Samantha’s mother, Julie, that Samantha should fill the empty spot. Ford became acquainted with Samantha because she and his son attended the same middle school.

“It is important to find someone who is responsible,” Ford said. “She was already doing great things in her community and has done a good job at her school.”

Samantha was nervous when she joined the other students for her first meeting at the Sawyer Building, 555 E. Washington Ave.

“It was so new and I didn’t expect it to be so big, so real, and I was like, ‘I cannot believe I’m actually here,’” she said. “It just made me more jealous of my mom because she goes there a lot. It was a great experience.” Her mother works with the Nevada Justice Association.

Despite being new, she voiced opinions.

“They didn’t think I would speak up, but I did for my first time because I wanted to have that experience,” she said.

Youth legislators, who are mentored by former state Sen. Valerie Wiener, are required to hold public hearings and conduct outreach campaigns. They chose a bill to present to the state Legislature in April: Olivia Yamamoto’s proposal to include discussions of sexual consent in high school government classes.

All youth legislators created bills, then selected Olivia’s from the pool. Samantha’s focused on Driver’s Edge, a nonprofit that teaches young drivers skills not often taught in traditional driver-education courses , such as how to handle skidding or swerving away from unforeseen objects in the road .

After experiencing Driver’s Edge for herself and conducting research on teen-driving crashes, she thought the program should be implemented for license-seeking teens.

“There’s a lot of teen accidents involving skids and obstructions in the road,” she said. “A lot of teens do not know how to get out of those (situations).

Samantha is involved in other activities, including the fashion program at her school, National Honor Society, United Synagogue Youth and varsity flag football at Desert Oasis High School.

Ford said the Youth Legislature gives students skills they can use in politics and life.

“I think it’s a great complement to civics education,” he said. “They need to compromise, talk to people on all sides of the issues and find solutions to problems, which is important to learn early on.”

To reach View intern reporter Kailyn Brown, call 702-387-5233 or email kbrown@viewnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KailynHype.