Billerica students establish Youth Advisory Committee

BILLERICA — The town has a new governing board, but its members will look a little different from the traditional town committee.

The Billerica Youth Advisory Committee was officially approved as a subcommittee of the Select Board Nov. 8. The committee will be comprised of youths ages 14 to 18 and will focus on the issues that affect teens the most.

Billerica Memorial High School seniors Sean Simonini and Thomas Postell, who currently serve as student representatives on the School Committee, are the masterminds behind the BYAC, and have worked over the past few months to bring the idea to fruition.

“We want the youth to be educated citizens in their community and understand how local government works, and how it affects them directly,” Postell said.

In August, before the school year even started, Postell said he was talking to a friend from Wakefield who told him about a similar program in that town.

“I thought about it for a second, and said, ‘Billerica doesn’t have one of those,’” Postell said. “I got on the phone with Sean and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a project for us.’”

They immediately started planning a way to get a committee up and running in town. In mid-September, they reached out to the Select Board members, who helped them through the process. By November, they were ready to present their idea to the board.

Simonini said all of the Select Board members have been incredibly supportive of the project.

“They’ve always preached that this is our project, not theirs,” he said. “They’re there to put the guardrails up, but we’re carrying the weight on our shoulders.”

Both expressed surprise at how quickly their plans came together.

“It showed how quick the Select Board was in fielding these ideas,” Postell said. “We were both shocked they jumped right on it and said, ‘Let’s get it done.’”

All members of the Select Board praised Simonini and Postell’s efforts to get the committee started during the meeting at which it was approved.

“The best part about this is it doesn’t apply a filter to what the committee is going to do,” said Selectman Andrew Deslaurier. “They just need a place where they can be heard more effectively. This is a platform. … We’re providing a channel so folks can advocate for themselves, and that’s what any good committee does.”

Chairman Dan Burns said that having the committee would be especially helpful for the town’s current development projects, including the proposed Intergenerational Center.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity that you are both presenting to us to be able to have a connection to what the youth are really thinking and looking for in our community,” Burns said. “We’re having to do the best we can to determine what we think people want, and you’re going to be able to turn that on its head and tell us what you actually want to see and give us a vision for what the youth are hoping to see in the community.”

After the approval of the committee, applications were made available to youth in town. Any Billerica resident age 14 to 18 was encouraged to apply, whether they were a student at Billerica High, Shawsheen Valley Technical High School or an alternative education system. Simonini and Postell said they hope to make up the board’s members with representative portions from all three of those categories.

Applications were due Wednesday, and members will be chosen by the Select Board and most likely announced next week.

The committee will begin meeting this month, as Postell and Simonini want to get into member orientation before winter break begins. As official members of a Select Board subcommittee, all members will have to go through training on ethics, Open Meeting Law and other procedural rules, just like typical committee members and elected officials.

Simonini said they plan to address many issues affecting the town’s youth population. He has already heard from peers that some topics of concern are a desire for voter registration pushes and more opportunities for work-based experiences, getting students involved with small businesses and the local economy.

They also hope to have members of the local government visit the committee to talk about their own experiences and roles.

Both Simonini and Postell are interested in politics. Simonini has received a full scholarship to UMass Lowell next year, where he plans to study political science.

“What’s refreshing is that the genesis of this project came from our own lack of understanding about what town government could do for us,” he said. “Now, having a renewed understanding of that, I personally would love to pursue any level of governance.”

Postell, the current commander of the Billerica Junior ROTC, plans to pursue a degree in international studies at Norwich University before entering the armed forces.

The two have worked together on plenty of educational initiatives since their freshman year of high school, and are excited to see where this project brings them.

“Ultimately, we’re supposed to be a vessel for the youth to be where the rubber meets the road,” Simonini said.