Christina Siadat
Three teenagers join the city's Youth Commission
Active youth get a little more busy
By Kara Chalmers
Three teens who want to be more involved in tackling the city's youth issues have joined the 11 other Saratoga Youth Commissioners for the new term, which lasts until July 1, 2004. They, and current Youth Commissioners Valerie Farnum and Tannaz Altafi, who were reappointed to their seats, will be sworn in at the June 7 City Council meeting.
The new commissioners will replace outgoing members Kristi Kirwan, who is graduating from Archbishop Mitty High School and will attend the University of Arizona in the fall; and Mark Weiner, who did not reapply for his seat on the commission.
Beverly Tucker, the city staff liaison to the commission, said the number of commissioners fluctuates between 13 and 14, depending on how many people apply.
Christina Siadat, 14, will enter the ninth grade at Presentation High School next fall. Her brother, Kayvon, was a Saratoga Youth Commissioner when he was a high school senior.
"He met a lot of new friends and got to work a lot of events," Siadat said. "It just looked like a really interesting and fun job."
Siadat said she is looking most forward to working on fundraising events and thinking up new ideas, such as camping trips.
Last year, when Sacred Heart church sponsored a family from Kosovo, Siadat, who now attends Sacred Heart School, was one of five eighth-graders chosen to babysit for the four-year-old son, who is deaf. She has been an altar server since the fourth grade and helps with the church's fundraisers.
Siadat, who worked on Sacred Heart's yearbook, recently won a school essay contest on the subject, "How Catholic schools light the way to a new century." Her award was a $600 scholarship for high school.
"I've been here since kindergarten so I really got to tell about how much I enjoyed it and how important it was for me to go there," Siadat said of Sacred Heart.
An avid soccer and tennis player, Siadat hopes to play for Presentation's teams. She presently plays for the De Anza Clash soccer team and will play on a USTA tennis team in the summer. She also plays the piano.
With the addition of Siadat, the commission will have a representative from Presentation High School next year, Tucker said, something the commission lacks now.
Darrell Wu
Like Siadat, Darrell Wu, 15, knew someone who joined the Youth Commission. Wu, and his friend, current Youth Commissioner Abhik Pramanik, will represent Lynbrook High School on the commission.
"I noticed that people from Saratoga who attend Lynbrook are not aware of Saratoga activities," Wu said, adding that he would do his best to make his peers aware.
Wu will be a junior at Lynbrook in the fall. He is active in the school's speech and debate club and was the second runner-up at the state qualifier tournament two weeks ago. The speech event he enjoys the most is called "foreign extemporaneous." The issues he debates are usually about places other than the United States and he only has half an hour to prepare. Wu said the spontaneity provides excitement and a rush.
"I like to talk about situations where compromise may be applicable," Wu said about his favorite topics. His peers in the club voted Wu "Best Freshman" last year. He is also an attorney for his school's mock trial team, but said he is not yet considering law as a possible career.
Wu is also part of his school's key club, and last year helped to set up Christmas in the Park in San Jose. He has played the piano for nearly 10 years, but does not play for his school.
James Ballingall
James Ballingall, 13, will enter the eighth grade at Redwood Middle School next fall. As with the others, he has a friend, current Youth Commissioner Elliot Onn, who enjoys being on the commission.
"[Onn] encouraged me and said it was fun," Ballingall said.
Ballingall is a core representative on the Redwood Student Council, elected by members of his homeroom class. The job entails going to meetings, taking notes and reporting back to his peers, he said. He is very interested in government and his favorite classes in school are literature and writing. He said he hopes to be a politician one day, or somehow be involved in government. He's not sure about running for office in high school, though.
A saxophone player since the fifth grade, Ballingall plays the instrument for the Redwood Advanced Band, a marching band during the fall that becomes a concert band the rest of the year.
He spends his Saturdays as an umpire for Saratoga Little League. "It's really good experience," he said. "I enjoy working with kids, and the sport, a lot."
When he was in the fifth grade, Ballingall won a presidential academic award for having high grades. He helps out with the annual phone-a-thon for the Saratoga Education Foundation.
Ballingall said one idea for an annual event he will propose to the commission is a Saturday creek cleanup.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
