Florence teen council seniors recall running statewide symposium, urge peers to join civic programs

Two graduating members of the Florence Teen Council described running a statewide teen symposium, reflected on three years in the council and the leadership lessons they said they will carry forward.

“It's finally good to look my age now,” said Aidan Rankin, a graduating teen council member, reflecting on completing his term. He added, “I'm coming for your position,” in a lighthearted exchange with the mayor during the podcast recorded by the Town of Florence.

The students highlighted a spring symposium the council organized. “It'll definitely be our teen symposium that we made,” Aidan Rankin said. “I remember for several months beforehand, we all came together. We were constantly trying to plan this out, coming up with the sponsors, the speakers, everything like that.” Rankin and fellow graduating member Alicia Sullivan said the event brought more than 100 students and speakers from around the state to Florence, giving local teens a chance to meet peers they had previously encountered only at the state capitol.

Why it matters: student-run events are a common avenue for youth civic engagement in Florence, and the students framed the symposium as both a public-facing project and a practical leadership exercise. The two seniors described the symposium as a highlight of their time on teen council and an example of how local youth programs can produce larger regional participation.

Both students talked about what motivated them to join teen council and what they gained. Alicia Sullivan, who said she will begin college on Sept. 2 and plans to study nursing with a focus on pediatric intensive care, attributed her career choice to her younger brother's early birth and a NICU stay: “Ever since that day, I decided I am going to help kids for the rest of my life,” she said. Sullivan said she originally had considered the NICU but chose PICU because of concerns about caring for very small infants.

Rankin described a personal turnaround after a difficult early high school period and said teen council was part of a deliberate effort to change direction and gain experience for a future in local politics. Both students said participating in Link Crew, National Honor Society and other school activities helped them build leadership and time-management skills.

The mayor, hosting the podcast, praised the students’ public work and asked each for advice to future teen council members. “No matter what you go through in life… if you go through it with a smiling face, the world's gonna smile back at you,” Aidan Rankin told the camera, adding that teens should not stress about having every aspect of their future planned.

The students also spoke about personal goals beyond civic activity: Sullivan said she hopes to work locally as a PICU nurse and start a family, while Rankin discussed aspirations in mechanics, acting and holding future elected office. Both credited teachers and school programs — including a teacher identified in the podcast as Miss Oplinger at Florence High School — with encouraging them to seek leadership roles.

The conversation ran about 21 minutes and included a quick-fire round of personal questions, from favorite school lunches to dream travel destinations. The podcast episode was presented as the Town of Florence’s first official mayoral podcast and served as a public wrap-up of the students’ service on teen council.

The session contained no formal votes or policy actions; it was an interview-style program in which the mayor and the two graduating teen council members discussed the council’s activities, memories and advice for future participants.