Learning through service

While there is no shortage of clubs or activities for students at Vestavia Hills High School to get involved in, senior Kendall Carter said at the end of her sophomore year, she realized there was something missing.

“I realized there wasn’t an opportunity for males and females to do something in the community to learn how the city works, and for the city to gain innovative ideas from the students,” she said.

Organizations like the Vestavia Hills Belles and Vestavia Ambassadors provide opportunities for students to get involved, but some don’t provide coed opportunities, and others don’t provide an in-depth look at how different aspects of a city work.

And although she was going into the summer before her junior year, Carter said she decided to contact Principal Tyler Burgess and express her desire to start something new.

A year and a few months later, Carter is the head of the new City Youth Connection, a group designed to both teach students about city government and professional businesses and provide those students with an outlet for hands-on service.

“It’s basically just an organization where students can learn how our community works,” Carter said.

The current group, made up of 14 seniors and seven juniors, meets every other Monday, and members are required to have a 3.0 GPA or higher to be considered. The group has already had a hand in some of the city’s most popular events, namely Wing Ding, I Love America Night and Back 2 School in the Hills.

In addition to helping out with events, Carter said students will be attending Chamber of Commerce luncheons, working with local businesses on their social media and continuing to build professional communication skills.

The chamber was a large contributor to the group’s formation, Carter said, because one of the groups she modeled hers on — Leadership Mountain Brook — is connected with a chamber.

Chamber President Karen Odle said the chamber has been thankful to work with the group of students, and to have their assistance in helping businesses, particularly with social media. 

"Kendall Carter has done an outstanding job as president of this organization in getting it up and running, and I believe it will be a huge asset to the business community as well as help the students understand the importance of supporting local businesses," Odle said.

 Odle and former chamber board chair James Robinson visited the group early on, and Carter said that was a moment many group members realized what kind of opportunity they had gotten involved with.

“At first I think everyone was a little unsure of what it was, but they were very open,” she said.

Going forward, Carter said she is confident that though she will be leaving at the end of the school year to pursue a degree in business, those left behind will carry the group into the future and help it continue to impact both students and the city.

“We have wonderful juniors,” she said, “I can see the leadership in them, so I know they’ll take it far.”