Celebrating Our 2023 YAC Graduating Seniors
[Image description: Headshot collage of six of our graduating YAC seniors]
Our Youth Advisory Council (YAC) program involves local high school students as leaders and grantmakers across Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau Counties. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication of our YAC students throughout this academic year and wish a big congratulations to our 2023 graduating seniors!
"We're proud of our graduating YAC members as they've been an important part of making grant decisions to support youth causes across the five-county region," said Torey Caviston,Youth & Community Impact Coordinator. "They, alongside fellow YAC members, awarded a total of $91,000 to 22 nonprofit partners last fall."
Check out what some of our seniors have planned post-graduation below!
Name: Alison Amalfitano
Years of YAC Service: 2
County: Grand Traverse
Post-Grad Plans: "I will be attending Florida Southern College- majoring in Business and Visual Communications."
How YAC Impacted Me: "Being a part of YAC encouraged me to come out of my comfort zone and make important decisions that would benefit many organizations. It helped my leadership skills and enlightened me on the process of applying, reviewing and making grant decisions."
Name: Althea Bardenhagen
Years of YAC Service: 1
County: Leelanau
Post-Grad Plans: "I plan to study Social Relations and Policy at James Madison College at Michigan State University."
How YAC Impacted Me: "I learned a lot about grants and the various organizations around the county."
Name: Lydia Bissonette
Years of YAC Service: 1
County: Kalkaska
Post-Grad Plans: "I'm attending Northwestern Michigan College in fall with a major in visual communications."
How YAC Impacted Me: "It helped me realize just how many organizations were in our area and the impact they have an others. It also gave me insight into certain issues and let me involve myself in the community."
Name: Clara Devey
Years of YAC Service: 4
County: Grand Traverse
Post-Grad Plans: "I am attending Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota in the fall."
How YAC Impacted Me: "This group encouraged me to be involved in the community. My voice has been heard within my community as I can decide what organizations I hope to support."
Name: Christine Eggert
Years of YAC Service: 1
County: Leelanau
Post-Grad Plans: "I'm attending Madonna University."
What I Enjoyed about YAC: "I enjoyed meeting all the interesting people that are working to better our community right now and in the future. I am so glad students get to be involved."
Name: Sela Geraci
Years of YAC Service: 3
County: Leelanau
Post-Grad Plans: "I'm going to attend Albion College."
What I Enjoyed about YAC: "The unique opportunity that it provided for high schoolers and the type of responsibility it exposed us to."
Name: Abigail Gordon
Years of YAC Service: 2
County: Kalkaska
Post-Grad Plans: "After high school I plan on going to college at Ferris State University for a degree in dental hygiene."
What I Enjoyed about YAC: "I most enjoyed helping the people closest to me in my community!"
Name: Lexie Montgomery
Years of YAC Service: 3
County: Antrim
Post-Grad Plans: "I'm going to Northern Michigan University to get a Associate's degree in Business."
What I Enjoyed about YAC: "I loved helping people and meeting people from other counties."
Name: Amelia Naperala
Years of YAC Service: 2
County: Grand Traverse
Post-Grad Plans: "I will be going to the University of Michigan to study Industrial and Operations Engineering."
What I Enjoyed about YAC: "YAC allowed me to connect with our community on a larger scale, as well as allowed me to understand the hard work nonprofits do in order to raise funds to help the community."
Name: Reese Owens
Years of YAC Service: 3
County: Grand Traverse
Post-Grad Plans: "I plan to attend the University of Michigan for Environmental Studies."
How YAC Impacted Me: "I learned a lot about how to make a meaningful impact within our community."
Name: Lillian Stevens
Years of YAC Service: 1
County: Leelanau
Post-Grad Plans: "I'm attending Northwestern Michigan College, unsure on major."
How YAC Impacted Me: "Being a part of YAC has helped me become a prominent part of the community and helped me get out of my comfort zone and meet new people."
Name: Elli Tiesworth
Years of YAC Service: 2
County: Benzie
Post-Grad Plans: "I plan on studying Sociology and Social Justice at Northland College in Wisconsin."
How YAC Impacted Me: "Being a member of YAC exposed me to the inequality within our community and how I can play a role in addressing it."
Name: Anissa Wille
Years of YAC Service: 3
County: Leelanau
Post-Grad Plans: "I'm attending Hope College to pursue a degree in Environmental Science."
What I Enjoyed about YAC: "I loved being able to see the impact on my community first hand."
Name: Katelynn Wolgamottt
Years of YAC Service: 1
County: Antrim
Post-Grad Plans: "I'm heading to Ferris State University, to major in Science."
How YAC Impacted Me: "It helped me realize what type of organizations there are, and how the community can help!"
Our other YAC graduating seniors include: Amanda Allen, Ryan Donnell, Joshua Kerr, Isabel LaCross, Ben Leman, Rachel Miller, Keegan Opper, Kathryn Wade, Luke Wiersema, Hannah Hughey, Journey Hutchins, Liberty Perry, Kelan Pletcher, and Ellen Roggenbeck.