In early April, Lexington Town Council celebrated the success and graduation of its first Youth Ambassador Program. In an effort to get students more involved in town offices and operations, the town council created this group to empower Lexington youth through service learning and mentorship.

This committee of 12 high school seniors from Lexington spent the school year working closely with the town council to take a deep dive into how life in Lexington works. “It was amazing to be able to see the inner workings of Lexington,” American Leadership Academy senior Brynn Palm said. “We basically got a ‘behind the scenes’ look at how the town functions and operates.”

Throughout their year, the students got to shadow Lexington Town Council’s meetings, look closely at town operations, meet Mayor Hazel Livingston, volunteer at town events and work together with the town on a big project that was presented at the end of the commitment.

“This year, our group worked really close with the water and sewer department on what can be a major hazard to our water pipes,” Brynn said. “We wanted to raise awareness about the hazardous effects of fats, oil and grease when they are dumped down our drains.”

Brynn told the Chronicle that this is unsafe and harmful to our water and sewer system, and eventually leads to backed-up pipes and excessive drainage repairs. “Unfortunately, backed-up pipes lead to road closures so that the pipes can be thoroughly flushed, which adds to the already growing traffic concern in Lexington.”

The group of seniors presented their research on the hazardous effects of F.O.G. to the town council on April 7 at the public meeting.

“While nothing was implemented or new guidelines put in place to prevent F.O.G., we were able to present a proposal on what could take place to work through this issue as a community,” Brynn said. “We worked hard on this project, and I feel the effort paid off.”

When asked why a committee like the Youth Ambassador Program is important to Lexington culture, Brynn said it was essential for the future generations of student leaders to come.

“I feel this program encouraged and empowered us as students to believe that we can make a difference in our community. You don’t have to be an adult or out of school to make an impact. I feel that this program was the bridge to closing that generational gap.”

After the presentation, the group of seniors graduated from the Youth Ambassador Program and gained approval from the Lexington Town Council to continue with this educational committee for rising seniors. While it’s unclear if the next class will continue researching F.O.G., they will work closely with the town council and spend the year researching a topic to present at the end of the commitment.

This eight-month commitment is open to Lexington's rising seniors from Lexington High, River Bluff High, American Leadership Academy, Northside Christian Academy and homeschool co-ops. All applicants must also reside in the Town of Lexington to be considered. Interested students will have to complete an application and go through an interview process upon being selected.

The deadline to apply is May 19, 2025. The application is available online at www.lexsc.gov/980/Youth-Ambassador-Program.

2024-25 Youth Ambassador Program Graduates:

• Lead Ambassador – Eunwoo C.
• Co-Lead Ambassador – Luke J.
• Secretary – Bella Grace W.
• Rilee B.
• Caroline F.
• Kayley H.
• Andrew H.
• Myleah H.
• Brynn P.
• Ella P.
• Yohonna W.
• Sienna W.