The Redhound Way: Communication in Action
- Corbin Independent Schools
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Eleven Delegates Against a Room of a Thousand
Julia Butler, an incoming freshman at Corbin High School, shared this story at District Day as a real-life picture of what Communication looks like at Corbin Independent Schools.
Julia Butler is 14 years old, an upcoming freshman at Corbin High School, and she's already been elected Speaker of the House. Not at Corbin. At the Kentucky Youth Assembly.
KYA is a statewide mock government program for middle and high school students, sponsored by the YMCA. Students draft bills, debate them, vote on them, and if they're lucky, watch them signed into law by a fellow student playing lieutenant governor. Julia's first year, she was a bill author. Her bill passed both chambers and got signed into law.
The next year, she went bigger. Julia ran for Speaker of the House against students from schools that showed up with delegations of more than 100.
Corbin's delegation had 11. She had to give three separate speeches to the entire conference: more than 1,000 students. She won.
Getting there meant talking to people who had nothing in common with her hometown. "I had to converse with many diverse groups of people from different cultures, ethnicities, genders, ages, and even from different countries," Julia said.
As Speaker of the House, Julia presented speeches in assemblies throughout the conference and chaired the House's final committee before bills went to the governor or lieutenant governor for signature. By her own count, she averaged 15 to 20 speeches a day over the three-day conference.
That's a lot of speeches for anyone, let alone a middle schooler. Julia says it changed how she sees communication altogether. "It was intimidating to speak in front of that many peers, but it sparked my love for public speaking," she said. "KYA has not only taught me about my love for public speaking, it has also taught me the importance of communicating outside of your comfort zone because you never know what you can learn from someone you don't regularly talk to."
That lesson didn't stay at the conference. Julia says she carries it into her classrooms and onto the soccer field at Corbin, where she tries to make sure everyone around her feels included. "I strive to be one of the best communicators and will continue to do so," she said.
Julia starts her freshman year at Corbin High School this month, and she says she plans to keep chasing opportunities like KYA all the way throughout.
