LIHU‘E — Daisy Liberato, a junior at Kaua‘i High School, loves creative writing so when she was assigned the task of writing an essay for the 2008 Hawai‘i Leader for a Day essay contest, she happily accepted the challenge, a
LIHU‘E — Daisy Liberato, a junior at Kaua‘i High School, loves creative writing so when she was assigned the task of writing an essay for the 2008 Hawai‘i Leader for a Day essay contest, she happily accepted the challenge, a county news release states.
Liberato’s essay was selected as the winner in the Kaua‘i Mayor for a Day category and as a result she was invited to spend Wednesday shadowing Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and other county officials.
“Meeting the mayor one-on-one was not what I expected,” said Liberato. “He made me feel very comfortable. It was like talking to a friend.”
During her discussions with the mayor, the Kaua‘i High School junior learned a lot about him including: the leadership experiences he had while he was in high school; the hectic schedule he keeps on a daily basis; and how he frequently meets with department heads in order to track the progress of all their projects.
“Daisy is a smart young lady with a bright future ahead of her,” said Carvalho. “It was great to spend time with her and offer her a glimpse of how county government operates. We need to nurture our young people as they are the future leaders of our community.”
Meeting the mayor’s cabinet at the Kaua‘i County Team’s daily meeting where important matters for the day are discussed was also an interesting experience for Liberato.
Not only did she learn what the department heads’ responsibilities are, she also found out what kind requests they might send to the mayor’s office.
“Some of them (jokingly) asked me to sign travel documents and pay raises since I was Mayor for the Day, and I just laughed,” said Liberato.
The Kaua‘i High School junior also had the opportunity to shadow Anti-Drug Coordinator Theresa Koki, Lenny Rapozo, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, and Sgt. Kenneth Carvalho with the Kaua‘i Police Department.
It was a real eye-opener for Liberato when she visited police headquarters.
“I didn’t know about all the different types of jobs there are in the police department,” she said, noting that she was given a tour of the facility including the cellblock and dispatch center.
Culminating the day’s activities was the Kaua‘i County Council’s presentation of a certificate honoring Liberato.
When asked what she thought of the overall experience of being Mayor for a Day, Liberato said, “I think it’s good for someone my age to have the kind of experience I had because it will help me decide what to do with my life.”
Currently, the Kauai High School junior is leaning towards becoming a pediatrician because she wants to help children and families, but the possibility of entering politics is something that has crossed her mind.
The annual “Leader for a Day” Essay Contest is sponsored by the Hawaii State Legislature, and is open to students in grades six to 12.
Judging is based on originality, clarity of thought and reasoning.
In this year’s contest, participants had to explain what peace means to them, and describe a situation where peace is absent and what they would do as elected officials who could make policy changes to address the issue to make their communities more peaceful.
Five other Kauai High School students who entered the essay contest were selected to participate in the “Leaders for a Day” program at the State Capitol including: Allegra Bundschuh; Sheldon Chu; Kealoha Furneaux; Kimberly Oride; and Daniel Sagadraca.
All of them except for Chu will be spending March 12 shadowing Kaua‘i state Reps. Hermina Morita, Roland Sagum and James Tokioka and Sen. Gary Hooser.
A total of 45 students from across the state will be at the capitol that day, taking part in the day-to-day activities of their respective state representatives and senators.
