Carroll County High School seniors Shelby Hillebrandt and Lydia Risk were pleasantly surprised that serving as teen council members on the Carrollton City Council turned into an experience neither of them expected.
“It definitely came out to be a way better experience than we expected,” Shelby said with a laugh. “The mayor asked us if we would be interested in it and I don’t think we had any idea what we were in for. It turned out to be something really worth our time.”
The pair attended two city council meetings each month, sitting alongside council members and providing updates about activities and issues at the high school. At first, Lydia said the experience felt intimidating.
“For me, I didn’t know what to expect at first. You're with some of the most important people in our community and we were doing our best to try to give a report,” Lydia said. “I feel like we made connections with really good people who are now our mentors and we can talk to. At first it seemed scary, but the mayor is our friend now.”
Shelby said sitting beside council member Jeff Dickow helped her better understand how meetings worked.
“It sounds crazy to say we’re friends with them but I sat next to Jeff Dickow and he really did become a good friend,” Shelby said. “He would explain to me what was happening during the meetings.”
Lydia sat beside council member Doug Hill, who also helped explain what was happening throughout the meetings.
“They would always lean over and tell us what was going on and explain everything so we got to learn more about the government, not just the people,” Lydia said.
Before joining the council, Lydia said she had little interest in politics. That changed as she watched how local leaders worked together.
“At first I was definitely not interested in politics at all,” Lydia said. “Then you are in this environment where it’s not scary, not fighting all the time. It was really nice to see a community get along with each other. I feel like a lot of communities struggle with getting along, but they were so open to listening to everyone’s ideas.”
She also remembers the opening moments of the meetings helping her feel more comfortable.
“At the very beginning Linda Davis would pray into the meetings. I don’t know if that happens everywhere, but with our faith, her praying during that first meeting calmed me down,” Lydia said.
Shelby said those prayers also highlighted an important lesson about public service.
“One of the huge things was every single prayer included, asking God to help us make the right decisions for our community,” Shelby said. She noted that people often think local government makes decisions based on their personal likes and dislikes, but that was not her experience with the Carrollton City Council. “It’s really only a consideration of what the community would want. We have input but it really is about what Carrollton needs.”
The experience also changed Lydia’s perspective about her hometown. She discovered that the naysayers are wrong many times. “When you go to these meetings and experience the things that happen you realize that people really do care about the community. People don’t realize and understand that, they just complain about that before going to the meetings. There’s people who consider even the smallest things in the city,” Lydia added.
Both girls said their involvement quickly expanded beyond simply attending meetings. They were invited to the city’s employee Christmas dinner and encouraged to participate in discussions when they had ideas.
“We felt included and not just a teen council member,” Shelby said.
Even though their tenure on the council is finished, they are still involved in researching the history of the Jett Brothers Distillery, which once operated near what is now Two Rivers Campground. The information will be used on a historical sign at the campground.
Even though their official term has ended, both plan to remain involved and continue supporting the next group of teen council members.
“It’s nice to know we can still go to the meetings and help the new teen members,” Lydia said.
Looking back, Shelby said taking the opportunity was worth the commitment.
“That was a huge lesson we learned, just take the leap,” Shelby said. “It turned out to be one of the best parts of our senior year.”