You're never too young to 'dream, dare, do'

OSPREY — With a growing distrust of government and ever-rising housing costs looming over America's Gen Z generation, confidence in the future continues to lower.

But one rising senior at Pine View School for the Gifted said things can change for the better, and it involves the youth of America, commitment and respect.

Terry Shen, 17, serves Sarasota County community while balancing a college-heavy workload and leadership roles in school. He believes there should be hope for a united society.

Shen recently attended the 80th American Legion's Boys State in Tallahassee, a program where he was able to participate with nearly 500 other students about issues affecting Floridians.

Though the group had only known one another for less than 24 hours, Shen quickly immersed himself in connecting with teens from backgrounds ranging from military committed to published researchers.

When it came time for elections, Shen was chosen as mayor the first day, the board of county commissioners the second day, a senator on the third day and governor — all being the highest positions in each sector of the organization — on the fourth day.

Shen said raising his popularity for leadership roles was not his focus, but rather finding common ground and understanding others' struggles before moving into legislative actions.

"I don't necessarily believe that the person who goes up there and delivers the best speech will always win, because nothing beats a good relationship," Shen said. "Those real connections, I believe, is what makes me stand out. It's me taking the time to get to know people, and I don't do it with the purpose of winning elections. I do it because I really want to know them."

As senators, hundreds of boys were granted the opportunity to write bills about real things they want to change. For Shen, that meant advocating for affordable home insurance, an issue he found impacts Floridians struggling to meet rising premium costs.

Though the bill did not pass, Shen said it opened his eyes to how adults willing to find common ground and basic respect for one another can propel a society forward without polarizing its people.

"It was an opportunity for us to make the change that we want to see and show the adults that we as children also have the potential to make real change," Shen said. "It also showed how respect is still something that should be valued today. And at the end of the day, your beliefs don't necessarily give you that ability to disrespect others."

When Shen was announced as the governor of Boys State, the Pine View student said he felt like moving forward together as a society could truly be possible.

"That was a moment where I thought, 'We can do this, we can pass these bills and we can we can get things done,' and now is the time when we can actually come together and debate our bills, have positive discourse and make real change," Shen said.

While speech and debate skills have propelled him to success, Shen said he must credit most of his achievements to his parents.

Shen was raised to practice diligence and determination, a philosophy that recently landed the trilingual student an invitation to the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference.

After meeting with some of the world's most influential journalists to discuss the importance to "dream, dare, do," Shen hopes to bring back some inspiration to his coming-of-age classmates as senior class president.

"I think especially at a young age, it's important to understand that because you're not good at something, that's another reason why you should run for it, because this mindset of whether or not you're actually good or bad is all subjective," Shen said. "The most important thing to do is to try things that you normally wouldn't have tried, because I believe that's how you really learn."

As the managing editor of Pine View's The Torch, Shen said his summer experiences have also helped him understand not only the power of a platform, but also the privilege of one.

"The reality is, we're all given different skill sets. We all have something we're passionate about, something that we really like, or something that we vehemently dislike," Shen said. "Because I have that platform, I believe it's my duty to stand up and advocate for those around me that might not necessarily have that voice."