Teens will travel to Iowa for Global Youth Institute

By P.J. CANDIDO
Staff Writer

 Kayleigh Wilson Kayleigh Wilson Two students from the Freehold Regional High School District are excited they will have an opportunity to interact with other young adults and discuss pressing issues with international experts.

Kayleigh Wilson, 17, and Sruthi Boddapati, 17, have been selected to attend the Global Youth Institute conference to be hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation. The conference will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, from Oct. 15-17.

Kayleigh, who is a resident of Howell, is a senior at Howell High School. Sruthi, who is a resident of Manalapan, is a senior at Freehold Township High School.

Each year, the Global Youth Institute selects 200 high school students from across the United States and other countries to participate in the three-day conference, according to its website.

At the conference, students present and discuss the findings they made in research papers with international experts and their peers, connect with students from around the world, tour cutting-edge industrial and research facilities, and take part in symposium discussions with global leaders in science, industry and policy, according to the website.

 Sruthi Boddapati Sruthi Boddapati Kayleigh is a student in the Scholars Center for the Humanities at Howell High School. She appreciates the opportunity to attend the conference.

“It is good to know there is a way to make a difference and make my voice heard besides just ranting on the Internet or talking about it in class,” she said. “We can actually do something now to address these problems.”

Sruthi is enrolled in the Animal and Botanical Sciences Academy at Freehold Township High School. She said the conference is about investing in young people who are the leaders of the future.

“Sometimes youths have a voice that is overlooked,” she said. “Inspiring youths is one way to ensure a healthy and stable future.”

The young women were chosen to attend the conference in large part because of research papers they submitted as part of the institute’s application process.

Kayleigh wrote about human resource issues in Mexico, specifically how women are treated in that country.

“There has been a very intense hatred for women in Mexico. It is pretty much known as a machismo culture,” she said. “It is a lifestyle where they believe men are superior to women and it shows in the way women are treated.”

Kayleigh said women are not paid as much as men are in Mexico. She said she is very passionate about the subject and the paper was personal for her.

“Considering that I am an outspoken feminist, especially for minorities and other groups such as that, I figured that is what I would write my paper about,” Kayleigh said.

Sruthi said a teacher recommended that she apply for the Global Youth Institute. She wrote about Bangladesh and used her knowledge of medicine, health and demographics.

“I wanted to choose India, but I chose to write about Bangladesh because they were more conflicted and they were having a lot more issues at the time,” she said.

Sruthi was born in India. She said she has been interested in medicine and demographics since she visited the nation of her birth.

“I have seen how medicine affects the community and I am very interested in that,” she said. “It has made me value life.”

Kayleigh said she is excited about the opportunities the conference will offer its participants.

“It is a great chance for students to meet representatives and delegates who are interested in the same kind of global programs that we are interested in,” she said.

Sruthi said the Global Youth Institute offers participants opportunities to apply for internships around the world.

“I am excited to hear all the amazing speakers and world leaders talk about their own experiences,” she said. “I definitely want to apply for a domestic or international internship.”