New Mexico high schoolers recently took over the state Capitol to practice what they learned about how the legislative process works. But participants in the National Hispanic Institute’s youth legislative session also gained more than just a civics lesson — they walked away with renewed self-confidence.
Over 100 sophomores and juniors from across the state participated in this year’s Dennis Chavez New Mexico Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session. Ava Kazlowski, a 16-year-old Valley High School student, was elected speaker of the house, presiding over the chamber’s floor sessions, calling for votes and order over the microphone.
She said she gained her fluidity in parliamentary procedure in just a week with the support of a former participant who returned to volunteer as the secretary of state. She said she wasn’t previously familiar with how the state legislature operates.
“I actually enjoy being a part of the process, even if it’s not real,” she said. “I think it’s very unique in how everybody has a say. So, I enjoyed learning it and watching it happen.”
The National Hispanic Institute, which has a focus on leadership development, says on its website that the youth legislative session is intended to prepare young Hispanic people “for the rigors of leading large organizations.” Kazlowski said that, before participating, she lacked confidence in speaking up and advocating for herself.
“As speaker of the house, I had to set boundaries; it was my role. And I believe that helped a lot,” she said. “And I got to speak on a mic very publicly. That was a very vulnerable state for me but now I find myself very comfortable with it.”
The group stayed on the University of New Mexico campus for a week, which started with learning about how laws are made before creating their own political parties and platforms. They then ran elections for senate, speaker of the house, governor, lieutenant governor and supreme court. Other students acted as representatives, cabinet members and attorneys.
Senior counselor and spokesperson Denae Ávila-Dickson said the students also learn thecore principles of the institute, like community equity building, which she described as approaching civic engagement with a focus on the assets of the Latino community.
“What we’re looking at is seeing how our community is strong, has these talents and skills that already exist, and learning how to harness that,” she told KUNM.
The students then wrote their own legislation based on what matters to them. Bills ranged from wildfire management and traditional farming practices to establishing an Elder Advice Day and a convention where people could learn about affordable health care options. They debated and passed the bills at the Roundhouse, sitting in the chairs of actual state lawmakers — including Sen. Michael Padilla, who spearheaded the program’s return to New Mexico.
Padilla participated in it back in1988, where he said he introduced a proposal that resembled what would eventually become the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship.
“Me and my sisters grew up in foster homes, we didn’t have anything. I had some very helpful community members that put money together to help me go through the program,” he said. “So, I thought ‘OK, let’s just take that barrier out of the way for a lot of these kiddos.”
Padilla secured legislative funding to ensure the session was free for all participants. He said another crucial element was getting the University of New Mexico to host the students.
“You know, they may be the first person from their family to ever show up at a higher education campus,” he said of the youth lawmakers. “And it becomes real for them at that point. They see this as, ‘Wow, this is for me too,’ right?”
This was the second year of the LDZ Youth Legislative Session’s reboot in the state, following a 20-year hiatus. NHI also held in-person sessions in Texas, Colorado and Maryland this year. While not all participants will become lawmakers after this experience, as Padilla did, he said they will all gain important skills for whatever they want to pursue — like teamwork and what he calls “sticktoitiveness.”
“You know, just stick to it all the way through. And it might not make sense, but it’s actually going to turn into something for you later,” he said. “As hard as it may seem, you’re actually going to be able to get it done — whatever it may be.”
Reese Brown is 16 years old and attends the Albuquerque Institute of Math and Science. She was elected governor of this year’s session and said the program will also help her get more politically engaged.
“I wasn’t really clear on how these things happen, like the exact steps,” she said of the legislative process. “So, now that I know the process and everything, I can definitely get more involved.”
She said the pandemic had driven her back in her shell and she was struggling to get her confidence back before she participated in the youth legislative session, where she signed and vetoed bills and served as a leader for her cabinet and party. She got emotional as she described how the program shifted her mindset.
“Before this process, I didn’t think I could do it. I didn’t think I was capable. But I am,” she said. “Here I am today. And that’s what I’m going to take away — is that we can do it, we are capable members. I can truly pursue anything I want to.”
Brown and this year’s other participants are invited to return as junior counselors when NHI’s youth legislative session returns to the Roundhouse next summer.
