2009 Youth Commissioners

Our youth commissioners have done a great job this year. Below you can read a little more about each commissioner.

My name is Kavya Shankar and I am your District 1 Youth Commissioner from Lynbrook High School. One year ago, as a sophomore, I joined the Youth Commission with the sole intention of serving as the liaison between the City of San Jose and the 10,000 youth within my district. I was amazed to find out the infinitely more opportunities in this organization that has defined my high school career. With this position, I am interested in empowering the youth of my district and city by providing the necessary resources to succeed. With strong interests in business, civic engagement, the environment, and business, I strive to dedicate myself to these areas through not only the Youth Commission, but also other organizations.

In addition to the Youth Commission, I’m also actively involved in Future Business Leaders of America, serving as the National President’s Assistant, California State Parliamentarian, and Lynbrook High School Vice President. Working off of my passion for education, I am one of the founders and the Director of Public Relations for Project Yes We Can, an organization aimed at improving school relations and environments. Finally, I play an active role in school leadership in order to ensure that students are getting the most out of their years spent in high school. In my free time, I enjoy reading satirical news in The Onion, learning how to play pop culture songs on the violin, and writing fan fiction.

This year, I challenge all of the youth of San Jose to be bold and become a voice by demonstrating passionate, active leadership, and I hope to assist each and every one of you in achieving this. For more information or to join the Youth Advisory Council of District 1, email Kavya Shankar at kavya.shankar@sjdistrict1.com.

My name is Aaron Carrera and I am the commissioner for District 3. I am 17 years old and I am a senior at Leland High School. The reason I joined the Youth Commission was because I want to make a change in my community. Some of my hobbies are playing soccer, handball, listen to music and volunteer in the community. I am part of the Saqrado Corazon church youth program. I also volunteer at the Washington United Youth Center. In addition I also am a part of PACT, which is an organization that invests in youth to make sure that they graduate and succeed in life.

Some of the things I would want to accomplish from being a Youth Commissioner are to help my community and to make my district a little safer for youth. I would really like to work close SJPD and gang prevention programs to help youth in my district find alternatives to joining gangs. This is the biggest issue in my district and I believe that it is possible to make the city safe and crime free with the help of community members, police and parents.

Hello my name is Destiny Trevino and I am the District 5 Youth Commissioner. I attend Mount Pleasant High School as a sophomore. I joined the Youth Commission to make a change. I have five brothers and I am the second oldest. One thing I love to do is baby-sit. My favorite sports are basketball and softball. My favorite thing to eat is tamales. I consider my self outgoing, a people person and someone who people can talk to about their problems.

I am still in the process of putting together my Youth Advisory Council. If you are interested in being a part of the District 5 Youth Advisory Council please feel free to contact me at glittergirl_1@comacst.net or you can call the Youth Commission office at 408-793-5598.

My name is Nicholas Taxera and I a sophomore at Del mar High School. Go DONS!!! I am a 4th generation Bay Area resident, and I am very proud of that. My brother, mother, father and I are proud citizens who value education awareness of the world. I have long loved politics and being involved in my community. I volunteered for the presidential election and some of the local measures and propositions. History, the stories and trials of individuals and the triumph of justice are the basis for my activities. Aside from the Youth Commission I am also involved with Congressman Mike Honda’s Student Advisory Council, which like the Youth Commission, works to improve the lives of our fellow youth.

As a new Youth Commissioner I have many new exciting ideas. Among them are a city-wide youth clean-up day and proposing anti-smoking legislation to the San Jose City Council. Being a commissioner is an exciting experience and if anyone would like to join the District 6 Youth Advisory Council please feel free to contact me at ntaxera@gmail.com or you can call Youth Commission staff at 408-793-5598.

Hello my name is Amanda Aldama and I am the Youth Commissioner for District 7. I am a junior at Silver Creek High School. I have been on the commission since September of 2007. I have been involved in the community for as lo g as I can remember, helping to coordinate neighborhood events for the West Evergreen Neighborhood Association for the past four years. My personal hobbies are writing songs and poems. I also enjoy making movies, someday I would love to be a movie director. Photography is also a love of mine, as you can see I have many interests.

The district 7 Youth Advisory Council has been included in many volunteer activities, We are an active bunch and enjoy helping out in the community. In the past we have helped out with neighborhood carnivals and clean ups. If you are interested in joining the District 7 Youth Advisory Council please contact me at whispersinthedark5@gmail.com or you can call Youth Commission staff at 408-793-5598.

My name is Nwakaego Uzoh. I am currently a sophomore at Presentation High School. I joined the commission because I wanted to make a change in my community, empower youth of San Jose and make them more environmentally conscious. I really enjoy listening to all kinds of music from screamo to country and techno to rap. I like traveling and learning different languages. My hobbies are playing guitar, robotics, reading, gardening, and graphic design. I plan on majoring in biochemistry and environmental science.

If you are interested in becoming a part of the District 8 Youth Advisory Council please send me an e-mail at nwakaegou@gmail.com or you can call Youth Commission staff at 408-793-5598. Remember the words of Captain Planet: The power is yours.

My name is Katie Hawn and I am your District 9 Youth Commissioner from Leigh High School. I became involved in the commission because of my mom. I realized how much I care about the community and my district. I am ready to make District 9 an amazing place to be.

At school I am Senior Class Vice President and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Leigh newspaper, “The Eleight.” I was also heavily involved in marching band where I was the Percussion Captain this past season. I have filled my life with things to do and places to go. Through all of this I love meeting new people and getting involved in new things. Our Youth Advisory Council enjoys going out to the community, this holiday break we made gift baskets for the children’s center and we will be doing identity workshops at Union and Price Middle Schools.

You can find me at the beach skim boarding, at home doing homework, in the mountains snowboarding or at home playing drumset. If you are interested in joining my Youth Advisory Council or have any questions for me about what I do, please e-mail me at rippergirl89@yahoo.com or you can call commission staff at 408-793-5598. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Hello! I'm Nicholas Polussa, the District 10 Youth Commissioner of San Jose. I go to Leland High School in the Almaden Valley. I was born in Danville, Illinois, but I moved to Susanville, California when I was two months old. I lived there until the summer of fourth grade, when I moved to San Jose. I went to Randol for one year, than I went to Bret Harte Middle School for all three years, and then Leland.

I've become a commissioner because it is important to me to better Almaden Valley. I've been hearing people say that Almaden Valley is "boring" and I know that Almaden Valley does not provide nearly enough activities and opportunities for teens and other youth to be productive. It irks me that such a large city is not able to provide sufficient support for the youth. I intend to change this. In addition to being a Youth Commissioner, I volunteer a lot. I do speech and debate at my high school, play soccer, and run track.

I don't very much like to do track, but I am in love with soccer. I play soccer every day during the winter, and for the majority of the week during the rest of the year (I play club soccer). I play right and left defense, and I like to play right midfield. I like to read, do science experiments and learn history; I've a great history teacher (Mr. Kerwin!). If you would like to be a part of the District 10 Youth Advisory Council please feel free to e-mail me at nicholaspolussa@gmail.com or you can call Youth Commission staff at 408-793-5598.

Hi! My name is Darlene Tu. I am currently attending Evergreen Valley High School as a junior. I represent the Youth Commission as the city-wide commissioner. I found out about the Youth Commission through volunteering at the public library.

When I am not busy studying, I like to spend my time shopping or swimming, Spending time with my family is also essential. Thus, my family loves to travel around the world! In the future, I want to broaden my view of the world even further and, of course, try various exotic food that these places have.

I love volunteering for organizations such as Sacred Heart and the Salvation Army. I try to be as active in the community as I possibly can. As the city-wide commissioner I do not have a Youth Advisory Council but if you have any questions for me about the San Jose Youth Commission, feel free to contact me at tudarlene@yahoo.com.

Hello my name is Veronica Ruiz and I am part of the San Jose Youth Commission Staff. I am currently a full time student at San Jose State University perusing my degree in Child and Adolescent Development. I hope to be teaching in a classroom in the next year. I have always wanted a career working with children youth. For the past ten years I worked for a non-profit called City Year and know serve on the Alumni Advisory Board for City Year.

I love working with the Youth Commission because I believe that given the opportunity, young people can not only make a difference in their communities but they can change the world. I strongly believe in the power of young people and I love that the mission of the Youth Commission is “uniting to create an empowered voice for youth.” If you have any questions about the Youth Commission or if you know a 14-20 year olds that would be a great addition to our Youth Advisory Councils please contact me at veronica.ruiz@sanjoseca.gov or call me at 408-793-5598.

The Youth Commission is always looking for new talent. If you would like the Youth Commission staff to come to do a presentation top your youth group, organization, or school OR if you would like more information sent to you about the Youth Commission, please feel free to contact me.