Rep. Natalie Manley Honors JTHS Student Advisors

JOLIET, Il. - State Representative Natalie Manley honored 37 students on the Joliet Township High School District 204 Student Advisory Committee last week. 

Manley presented them with certificates from the Illinois House of Representatives with each student’s name that said “in recognition of dedicated participation in the Joliet Township High School Student Advisory Committee, contributing valuable student perspectives to district policy and program development.”

“Watching the students present their ideas to the superintendent, principals and administrators, I was impressed with their attention to details and thoughtful consideration of their recommendations,” Manley said. “The students clearly did their research and came up with great ideas to address issues they felt were important in their schools.”

The advisory committee was made up of students from both Joliet Central and West high schools, from different grades. They have been meeting in groups throughout the year. Several groups presented their final recommendations to the district officials April 24, which Manley attended.

“Not only does the entire district benefit from the students’ insight, but the experience for the students is tremendous. They are learning how to identify problems and solve them, which is the essence of what policy makers and legislators, like me, do every day.”

The students include Daniel Bautista, Paul Coffey, Justin Crawford, Zoe Diaz Paredes, Tristan Duarte, Alexa Encarnacion, Gianny Flores, Jayden Flores, Lino Gandara, Emmanuel Guzman, Hellyne Hammer, Brynn Hertzmann, Layla Howard, Javian Jaramillo-Rivera, Erick-Isai Jolomna, Isabel Juarez, Jesus Lara Soto, Camila Leal, Isac Lozano, Teagan Magennis, Noah Magnuson, Adam Martinez, Lily McDougal, Ana Moreno, Grace Orth, Nathanial Palacios, Lydia Pitts, Autumn Powell, Melissa Ramos, Abigail Schreiner, Natalie Schuster, Jordan Shell, Breidy Vasquez Lopez, Gabriel Villanueva, Haylee Wright, Ernesto Zavala and Juan Zavala.

JTHS District 204 Superintendent Dr. Karla Guseman said the committee was beneficial, and would be repeated again the next school year.