While most high school students’ free time consists of mundane hours spent scrolling through their For You Page or binge watching reality TV with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Daphne Milich’s free time is spent working, advocating, and vocalizing her opinions for her classmates.
Milich, a senior at Monte Vista, was one of two students chosen to be the first ever Student Board Member of the Contra Costa Board of Education. After seeing the open-call for applications in the summer of her junior year, Milich knew immediately that she wanted to apply.
“I thought it was a cool opportunity to do something at a larger scale for the county,” Milich said. “I thought that a lot of our wants and needs could be uplifted and students could have a bigger voice.”
Even with the application pool for the Student Board Member Role being very competitive, Milich knew that she owed it to herself to give it a shot so she could have the opportunity to voice student issues that are often neglected or aren’t being brought into the spotlight.
Being a part of the board allows Milich to make an impact on behalf of students all across the county, bridge together the gap between adults and students, and at the end of the day: make a large impact.
“I really hope issues exclusive to students that only we see or may only affect us and not as much the parents and the staff, we can make more balanced and give students the opportunity to discuss what affects us and not just the district’s bottomline,” Milich said.
With having to balance her life as a student and also as a member of the board Milich’s life can get busy, but that doesn’t stop her from making sure that her views are heard and her goal is being reached.
“The adults will always have a different vision than the kids of how things are supposed to work, so creating a synthesis between those two visions is my goal,” Milich said.
Even with it just being a few months into Milich’s term of the Student Board Member, she has taken this role head-on by participating in many discussions and has raised her thoughts and concerns at meetings.
Some of the topics at the table have surrounded discussions of what books are being allowed to be taught and read in schools. More recently the conversations have centered around how English education can be steered in the right direction to positively impact literacy rates.
“It is interesting [talking about these issues] because it brings me so outside of my perspective just at Monte Vista and lets me have input on issues that actually require me to do research and find out what my stance is,” Milich said.
Milich’s passion for advocacy and leadership didn’t just happen overnight. She always had strong ambition that has fueled her drive to make changes in her community. One of these changes sprouted from her organization, Independent Youth Counsel (IYC).
“My organization IYC gives free or pro bono legal advice to homeless youth or people who are living in homeless shelters or foster homes,” Milich said. “It is all about accessibility and making sure people can defend and stand up for themselves regardless of whether or not they are financially able to do so.”
And, even with just being 17, Milich already has big aspirations for the future that are inspired by the work she has done through IYC and the Student Board Member position.
“My ultimate goal is to become a lawyer,” Milich said. “Having these hands-on experiences like advocacy and public policy will really give me not only a leg up, but a huge opportunity to educate others on law.”
