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South Valley Riverton Journal

Herriman High Student Reaches Across Globe, Proving Her Voice Matters

Nov 06, 2015 11:51AM ● By Aimee L Cook

By Aimee L. Cook

 South Valley - Herriman High School’s social studies teacher Ryan White asked his students if they felt their voice mattered.  When only 20 percent of them raised their hands, he was alarmed and determined to help them feel otherwise.

“I started the ‘Voice Crusade’ last year with my classes,” White said.  “I had my students reach out to world political leaders they wanted to hear from, and we have received a volley of responses. One in particular is Secretary Johnson himself, is speaking to my government classes via Adobe Connect on Oct. 23 in the auditorium here at Herriman High.” 

Representative Mia Love visited the school in March after another student wrote to her. Senior Amelia White wrote to the prime minister of England and received a letter in response. 

“I wrote the letter to the prime minister because my government teacher asked us to contact people to speak with us about politics because ‘they work for us as a people’,” Amelia said. “So I thought it would be interesting to try and get Prime Minister David Cameron to Skype with us about English politics, but I wasn’t really expecting to get a response, so I was surprised when I got one.”  

Although the response was not directly from the prime minster himself and the letter stated that he was too busy to talk with her, it was still exciting to reach across the world and receive acknowledgment. 

“What we do in Mr. White’s government class is very proactive and gives us the chance to reach out and use our voice to political leaders we would like to speak to,” Megan Flint, senior and media assistant, said. “Because of that, we have been able to speak and arrange meetings with Mia Love, Mitt Romney and Secretary Johnson. All it took was a little effort: finding emails, contact addresses and taking a little action. This is a very exciting time for Herriman High students as we continue to get involved and again, use our voice