Since starting high school, Charlie Cea has dedicated his life to community service, working with the Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund (SALEF) Latino service organization.
"[I was] grabbing food bags and backpacks and seeing that we have an impact on those people in the community makes me feel really good," Cea says.
That passion for helping and making change in the neighborhood opened the doors to the Los Angeles City Council as a member of the city's first youth council where Cea took advantage of the opportunity to organize public hearings.
"We're talking about affordable housing and also access to information for young people," says Cea.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
Now Charlie Cea is taking those experiences to college, as the Department of Youth Development gets ready to choose the next group of young leaders for the Youth Council.
"The [Youth] Council in honor of Olivia Mitchell was established last year and is comprised of 30 young Angelenos ages 16 to 25," said Tarm Fowler of the Los Angeles Department of Youth Development. "Since there are 15 districts on the council, we elect 2 members from each district."
During their year on council, youth are given a seat at the table, as was first done more than 50 years ago under Mayor Tom Bradley's administration.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
"Every week they usually have a youth council meeting, but at least two times a week they go to learn from different city departments," Fowler stresses.
Those interested in joining the next Youth Council group must live in neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles and submit at least one reference.
Applications close on July 23 and can be submitted on the Youth Council's website. They can also do so through their Instagram account @LACityYouth.
"It's a great opportunity," notes Fowler. "They can get a scholarship for their education of up to $300 a month and learn about the city of Los Angeles at the same time."
