UTICA — The Utica/Rome Chapter of the League of Women Voters has selected two area students to participate in this year’s Students Inside Albany program, an interactive conference that brings together high school students to learn about state government and how citizens can participate in policy making.

The students will observe state Assembly and Senate sessions and shadow their legislators as they participate in discussions about the operations of state government.

Selected to participate are: Sophia O’Neill, a student at New Hartford Senior High School, and Amiyah Evans, a sophomore at the Utica Academy of Science Charter School.

O’Neill is the president of Students for Justice and Equality, vice president of the Honor Society, and is also active in Ecology Club, Mock Trial Club, and Prism Club (for LGBTQ+ students and allies). She participates in basketball and track, is a volunteer at St. John the Evangelist Church as a preschool church teacher, and works with Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon. She received the 2021 YWCA Outstanding Youth award.

O’Neill’s counselor describes her as a person who “embraces leadership, confident yet humble, guided by her values of excellence, compassion and inclusiveness.” She has a strong desire to observe government in action, and has plans for a career in law and politics.

Evans is active in junior varsity volleyball, varsity track, the National Honor Society, the Mohawk Valley Community College STEP Program, and the Future Medical Professional Club. She participates in the Junior Frontiers of Mohawk Valley, a youth program dedicated to academic excellence, professional development, self-esteem, and civic service, serving as its treasurer.

In the words of the co-director of the Junior Frontiers, Evans “challenges herself in every way, … continuing to push herself to be the best she can be by standing out in all four pillars of the Junior Frontiers.”

Evans has also participated in the Utica/Oneida County NAACP Black History Program for the past two years, focusing on advocacy for womens’ and civil rights.

A highlight of the year included a trip to Ghana, Africa, where she had the opportunity to visit several schools, interact with the students, and to gain a better understanding of the student struggles there.

She anticipates a future in either child psychiatry/pediatrics or crime investigation.