As the District 7 Councilmember who represents a 95% student district, one of the most critical responsibilities I have is to get young people involved in local government. Over the last year and a half that I have been in office, I have had 34 paid interns participate in a robust program that gives young people the tools to be directly involved in community-driven change. The program focuses on educating interns on the legislative process and policy development in Berkeley, preparing them to develop their own policy projects based on District 7 community needs. Our interns have run a forum on homelessness, drafted budget referrals informed by direct outreach to District 7 residents, organized resources for constituents, met with over 15 City staff members, labor unions, nonprofit organizations, and individual stakeholders to better understand how to support our community through civic engagement, and so much more. Engaging with these brilliant individuals has been one of the best parts of this job and serves as a consistent reminder of the critical role community engagement and coalition building play in this work.