Speaker: Courtney Young
What inspired you to become part of SAAEF?
Courtney Young: I was inspired to become a part of SAAEF because I saw opportunities that were needed in my state to assist with things that could be done on a micro level. So when I thought about different changes that I wanted to see and I thought about different things that needed to be done, I knew that I needed to talk to someone that was not on a programmatic level or on just a state education program level because when you have meetings and you talk about your frustrations and it was easy to tell that a lot of the changes that needed to be made, our hands were tied so I knew that when I saw this opportunity that this would be the way for me to go about talking to the right people to hopefully see the changes that as a community, many of us were seeing needed to happen.
What were your biggest accomplishments during your SAAEF fellowship?
Courtney Young: My biggest accomplishments during the fellowship was just being able to tell my coworkers and different members of my state association what I was working on. I was able to write my first proclamation that year and I also was able to write other proclamations to support other communities with the support of the staff at COABE. I was excited that I wrote my legislator this year, and she actually wrote me back and that was just interesting to see that one letter that I took some time to write was actually read and I was able to see what was going on on a global level. So I was just excited to see that with the tools that I was given within the fellowship, I was able to make an impact that went all the way up to a state and federal level.
What would you like to say to someone in the field who is unsure if they have what it takes to be an advocate?
Courtney Young: I would like to say to anyone that's curious about becoming an advocate or unsure if they have what it takes to be an advocate, there are no perfect advocates. As long as you're doing something, you're making an impact because we can have conversations all day about what needs to be done, but until we actually put action behind those words and do something, whether it's an email, a proclamation, talking to people at a higher level than you until something gets done. We're just talking and that talking is powerful when it falls in the right spaces and on the right ears. So I just like to say that you don't have to have some kind of political background or the best writer in the world or the best public speaker, but as long as you're doing something and you're speaking about the problems you may be seeing, the successes that you may be seeing, there is no perfect way to go about doing this.
