Seven Austin area students in YMCA Texas Youth and Government (TXYG), a civics education program for middle- and high-schoolers, represented Texas on a national stage at the Conference on National Affairs (CONA) hosted at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC.
The Texas delegation, comprised of 24 students from across the Lone Star State, attended the week-long conference with support from the Texas Pioneer Foundation.
Among the seven Austin area delegates was Kate Schulle, a rising sophomore at Cedar Park High School. “Things like CONA will be the stories I tell when I’m old and reminiscing,” Schulle says. “This has been a life-changing opportunity.”
Other Austin area delegates included Alysha Orbach from Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders; Jesse-Elijah Williams from Leander High School; Jordan Clements, Evan Vollbrecht and Dylan Cousins from Hays High School; and Echo Nattinger from the Northwest Family YMCA homeschool club.