This is the first of several prompts for teenagers as part of the Headway Election Challenge in partnership with Chalkbeat. We’ll be asking young people to share their insights and perspectives throughout the 2024 presidential election.
Welcome to Week 1 of the Headway Election Challenge! We’re thrilled you’re here.
We’ve spoken to a lot of teenagers since the beginning of the year, and we know that elections can seem complicated, overwhelming, or even distant, making it easy to feel as if your voice doesn’t really matter.
Students and teachers: Follow the presidential election with Chalkbeat and The New York Times
But here’s the truth: You can help shape the future of your community, city, state, and country. Every voice adds to the larger conversation about where we’re headed next, and yours can be as big as you make it.
Take Aakrisht Mehra, a 16-year-old senior from Dublin, California. Mehra loves to read — right now, he’s on an Aristotle kick — and drink iced caramel macchiatos with two shots of espresso. As a public policy advocate and former congressional intern, he considers himself “really” politically engaged. But he admits it’s not easy for teens like him to get involved.