Wood Dale teen becomes newest YMCA Youth Governor

Wood Dale has an emerging community leader.

David Surzykiewicz is now the Youth Governor of the Illinois chapter of the YMCA Youth and Government program. The 17-year-old senior from Lake Park High School is the latest student to take part in a development program for high school students to immerse themselves as elected officials in state government, assuming roles of legislators, attorneys, lobbyists, journalists and more.

"I definitely feel a lot of emotions. It's very exciting," Surzykiewicz said. "I feel that it's a very interesting job. You meet all sorts of people from Illinois, we're all one big family. We all believe in being civilly engaged."

Surzykiewicz, although too young to vote in the 2020 election, still believes it's necessary for his peers to be engaged in democracy, and he hopes to further push ideas for equity in the law, voting rights and support for civil servants. The latter is a current focus to him, as he has started the "Operation Thank the Heroes" initiative to send personal letters of gratitude to every hospital in Illinois for their work during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Graduating later this year, he is still exploring options for his career path and college major but has honed in on law, criminal justice and government as his primary fields of interest.

A participant in the program for two years, Surzykiewicz is a second-generation American whose family immigrated from Poland prior to his birth. He is an active volunteer who believes in making a positive difference in his community and credits his family's support and time on Lake Park's wrestling team for his dedication and work ethic.

"Respect you get is earned through hard work," Surzykiewicz said. "That work won't only get you what you want, but it will make you a better person."