In the early morning hours at North Junior High School, you’ll find Nasro Shire sporting her blaze orange hall monitor vest. She wears it proudly while assisting and directing kids to class. Shire is the kind of student that believes in making an impact on her surroundings.
“School is fun, a lot of kids don’t think so, but I do,” says Shire. “Hall monitoring is fun. We get to change the school day by day, by talking with kids.”
Shire, an eighth-grader, takes the mindset of making a difference day by day quite literally. Shire is not only a hall monitor at North Junior High, she’s been a member of the Community Problem Solvers team and is currently a member of the St. Cloud Youth Commission. The commission is made up of 13 students that have been chosen to serve on the community-based group to work closely with the city of St. Cloud on projects.
The group’s mission: “The St. Cloud Youth Commission (SCYC) will seek to provide an avenue for young members of the St. Cloud community to advocate for neighborhoods, communities and organizations in an advisory role at a municipal level.”
“The purpose is to not only involve, but incorporate the opinion of the young people in the community,” says Mayor Dave Kleis. “Often we only get the opinion and perspective of people of who show up, which is typically under representing the population.”
Mayor Kleis believes it gives the kids the opportunity to engage and self-initiate. The students choose their own leadership and projects.
“What was great is when we asked the students who wanted to be the chair, most of them raised their hand to be chair,” says Kleis. “We are there to support them. They are learning the democratic process and city functions.”
“Education is key,” says Shire. “Community Problem Solvers impacted my life. It taught me how to solve problems. The SCYC is more hands-on. It is for a positive cause…I’ll be part of the community that will make change.”
Shire goes on to laugh,”We’re not getting out of school for nothing!”
The group is taking on a large project this year. As one of the executive officers, she’ll have a larger role in the coordination of the project. The group is planning a variety show to be held at the River’s Edge Convention Center during the city’s Fall Expo.
This event will be the first of its kind. The idea behind it is to bring in many cultures and many talents. They’d like to incorporate a fashion show as well. The event will be a fundraiser and the proceeds from the event will go to Adopt-a-Village, which helps to provide shoes, clothes, books and other things for children.
Emmanuel Oppong, community engagement coordinator for the city of St. Cloud, says, “The students came up with the idea [variety show], but in terms of the logistics, we’re here to support them.”
Mayor Dave Kleis never misses a meeting. It’s important to him to stay engaged with the students.
“It’s always inmpressive to watch, ” says Kleis. “Everything is done through Robert’s Rules and the students have done a pretty good job of building a consensus group.”
The group meets for one hour every month, which is why the group has learned to stay on task. The first meeting, the group was taught Robert’s Rules of Order, how to use the mics in the city chambers and how to allow others to speak.
“With the commission, everybody gets a voice,” explains Shire. “They let me speak my mind. The thing I’ve learned is that I do have a voice to change the community.”
Shire takes her gender, color and religion as motivation to be a better person and pursue a career in business, preferably fashion and design.
As Shire describes North’s environment, the announcements overhead are shared including a quote by John Wesley.
“The way we build a better tomorrow is by building better people today. We do all the good we can. By all the means we can. In all the ways we can. In all the places we can. At all the times we can. To all the people we can. As long as ever we can.”
“At North, our Eagle pride and Eagle Nation, it’s the one thing we’re good at- bringing people up,” says Shire.
Travis Okerlund, assistant principal at North, gave Shire a nudge for the St. Cloud Youth Commission.
“Nasro was a clear leader last year, but she lacked some direction on how to have her voice heard,” explains Okerlund. “We spent a lot of time in my office last year working on some conflicts she was having. Rather than punish or give consequences, we pushed her to challenge herself. Which, to her credit, she did.”
“I want to thank Mr. Okerlund,” says Shire. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here. I’m not a ‘straight A’ student, but the teachers connect with the kids. We’re like a big Eagle family.”
Shire is excited about her time with the commission and is looking forward to sharing their first project with the St. Cloud community. Keep an eye out for their upcoming event!
If interested in joining the St. Cloud Youth Commission, click HERE. The city is always recruiting future students.
Updated 2-10-2017: This story has been updated to include the new date of the planned project by the youth commission as well as adding comments by Mayor Dave Kleis.
Nice job, Nasro. I know that you are doing a great job! How would you like to come and talk to my 5th graders about going to North next year?
Thank you for the comment. I’ve passed along your question about her visiting your 5th grade class to Asst. Principal Okerlund.