Crescenta Valley High School (CVHS) students Mallory Apy and Angelina Vesselinov attended the California State PTA Legislation Conference earlier this month to advocate for issues affecting youth and families.

The conference, which takes place annually in Sacramento, enables PTA leaders to hear from experts in education, learn about current bills and budget challenges and meet with state legislators. Apy and Vesselinov were selected following an application process conducted by the Crescenta Valley High School Parent-Teacher-Student Association.

They joined CVHS PTSA board members and other leaders from around the First District PTA area – which spans Burbank to Pomona – to discuss topics such as the need for greater school safety and more mental health support with Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez and staff members from the offices of assemblymembers Nick Schultz, Blanca Rubio and John Harabedian.

“The most meaningful part of the conference was speaking to and connecting with my representatives one-on-one. It was extremely impactful for me to be able to share my struggles and my voice with the people who can truly make a difference on a legislative level,” Vesslinov said. “Meeting with Senator Pérez, for example, was especially meaningful to me because I saw a young woman in a position of power, which made me believe that I could someday be in her position.”

The conference speakers included State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Sen. Catherine Blakespear, Governor Newsom’s chief deputy legislative secretary Nichole Munoz-Murillo and assemblymembers Isaac Bryan, Corey Jackson, Mia Bonta and Al Muratsuchi, among others.

Pérez, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, also spoke at the conference and introduced her bill, SB 98, the Sending Alerts to Families in Education (SAFE) Act that would mandate schools and colleges notify students, parents, faculty and staff if immigration officers are on campuses.

“Talking with her allowed us to come up with an idea about how to spread awareness for the raids within our own school and community through a club we are both a part of, Students Demand Action,” Apy said. “The information we learned from the senator, along with other speakers and staffers, gave us a direction in how we can help the students we see every day, even if it is in a small way.”

Both students said attending the conference – which also included a visit to the Capitol where they witnessed a senate session – enabled them to see how the government functions at the state level and how to advocate for pertinent issues in future endeavors.

“I learned about some of the harsher realities of government,” Apy said. “I learned that it can take constant visits and follow-ups for your voice to be heard. I was only there for two days with the PTA, but I could see how this conference was not a two-day event but a year-round effort to push for policies that will better our schools.” 

“I definitely learned about the legislative process, but ultimately I learned that advocacy is extremely crucial to improving the lives of students across the nation,” echoed Vesselinov. “I learned that people need to rise up and unite, putting aside their differences with the common goal of fighting for our children and young adults.”