The Los Angeles Mayor’s Youth Council selected four sophomores as new members of the group.

Eshanika Chaudhary ’17, Chasia Jefferies ’17, Lauren Kim ’17 and Nathaniel Wall ’17 will become council representatives for the West Valley area.

They will learn about city issues and meet with elected officials to make recommendations to the Los Angeles City Council.

Students received an email from the history department informing them of this opportunity, and they sent in applications to the mayor’s office.

“I participate on the debate team and I thought participating on the Youth Council might be a good way to implement some of the ideas that we debate about,” Jefferies said.

During the 2015-2016 school year, the council will function as the voice of Los Angeles teens, advocating for issues they feel are important to youth.

The Youth Council’s mission statement reads, “as active participants…we are empowered to be positive agents of change in the community by giving voice and representation to youth-related issues.”

They will meet monthly to discuss transportation, education and public safety, among other topics.

At their next meeting, they will plan how they will make their mark.

Representatives also attend quarterly meetings with the entire Youth Council.

“I think it’s really important for people of our age to be involved in our community and to have a say in what goes on,” Kim said. “I think this is a great opportunity for me to be able to do that.”