State Senator Pete Harckham Visits Brewster High School for a Q&A with Students

“What made you go into public service?”

“How do you balance your own beliefs with those of the general public?”

What do you think we can do about the vaping epidemic?

Those were just some of the questions Brewster High School and Wells Middle School students asked state Sen. Pete Harckham during a recent visit. Taking place in the sun-soaked Innovation Learning Center, the session was an informative experience. In response to the students’ insightful questions, Harckham gave them an inside view of the give-and-take of government and what it is like to work as a senator.

Questions ranged from big issues like gun control and reproductive rights to more personal topics. Harckham was open and comprehensive with his answers, taking time to answer each one thoroughly. He left impressed with Brewster students.

“To see students who are engaged and tuned into what's happening is incredible,” he said in a post on his Facebook page. “There were so many great questions and we had a great conversation!”

Many of the students who participated are interested in politics and are involved in leadership roles within the district. The middle school students who participated are part of Wells' Bear CATs, the middle school’s Community Action Team, which includes members of the National Junior Honor Society, Leadership, Kindness Klub and Student Government. High school participants were all members of Democratic Congress and/or serving on the executive board for each grade.

When the conversation concluded, everyone enjoyed a breakfast spread made by the Handy Paws (a Career Skills class service) before the senator took a brief tour of the school. Before he left, Brewster High School Principal Nikki Horler and Superintendent Dr. Laurie Bandlow gave Harckham Brewster Bears gear to commemorate his visit.