ABERDEEN, S.D. – Aberdeen Central High School senior Mya Heintzman has been selected for this year’s cohort of the national Youth Collaboratory Program.
Heintzman is one of only twenty students chosen for the cohort from across the country. She will travel to Seattle in July and Washington, D.C., in October to learn about civic virtue and develop her own service project to benefit her local community.
“I love helping people,” Heintzman said. “It's just a passion that I have, and I want to be able to do it more and more as I grow and get older. A program offering a chance for me to be able to travel for free and learn about civic virtue—I think it's a great opportunity.”
Heintzman said she hasn’t yet decided what her service project will be, but she wants to make it centralized around youth. She has been meeting with local leaders to try to determine the community’s needs.
“I kind of want to focus on underlying issues within our community, whether it focuses on getting people more engaged, or helping kids to my ability,” she said.
Youth Collaboratory, a program of the national nonprofit organization Citizen University, focuses on the central idea of being civic-minded and helping your community. Heintzman said she learned about the program from Breanna Wollman, a recent CHS graduate and Bezos Scholar.
“I never expected to actually get in,” Heintzman said. “It's really cool to have the opportunity.”
Heintzman said she’s grateful to Wollman for letting her know about the program, and for the help of CHS Speech and Debate Coach Kerry Konda. At Central, Heintzman is a member of the Speech and Debate Team, president of FBLA, board member of SADD and secretary of NHS. She will also be helping to take over Wollman’s Bezos Program service project.
After high school, Heintzman plans to keep helping people and wants to become a lawyer.
For other students who want to help, she said it’s possible with or without a program like Youth Collaboratory. Her advice is to talk to older students who are very involved, like she did with Wollman, as well as community leaders.
“Everybody can have the opportunity to accomplish something,” Heintzman said. “It doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter if you got accepted into a program like this or not, you can apply to anything you want. And you can basically do anything.”
About the Aberdeen Public School District
The Aberdeen Public School District provides a comprehensive educational program to approximately 4,200 students in grades K-12, with a mission of empowering all students to succeed in a changing world. Our students receive the knowledge and skills necessary to reach their potential in a global community through high expectations of academic achievement; diverse educational opportunities; and community involvement in a safe, supportive environment. Learn more at aberdeen.k12.sd.us.