Preparing the Next Generation of Citizens: My Address to Mercersburg Academy

I recently had the privilege of speaking to the community at Mercersburg Academy, a coed college-preparatory boarding and day school for grades 9-12 located in Pennsylvania. I’m thrilled that they are developing a civic engagement program for their students, and I was deeply honored to deliver the keynote address for Family and Alumni Weekend.

In attendance were a diverse group of individuals, including students, parents, and educators. While my words were mostly directed toward the younger generation in the room, I strived to impart valuable takeaways that resonated across age groups. Here are some of the practical, actionable steps I shared to help support and cultivate young people as empowered citizens.

Students:

• Listen thoughtfully to people who don’t think like you and don’t agree with you.
• Seek common ground.
• Learn how your government works.
• Be thoughtful information consumers – don’t believe everything you see.
• Recognize that the opposite of democracy is autocracy.
• Don’t conflate economic models with political models – you can challenge capitalism without toppling democracy.
• Vote.
• Volunteer.

Parents:

• Role model what it means to be well-informed, productively engaged, and committed to democracy.
• Listen thoughtfully to people who don’t think like you and don’t agree with you.
• Seek common ground.
• Vote.
• Volunteer.
• Provide opportunities for your children – and others – to become more effective citizens.

Teachers:

• Bring citizen preparation into your curriculum, irrespective of discipline.
• Role model what it means to be well-informed, productively engaged, and committed to democracy.
• Listen thoughtfully to people who don’t think like you and don’t agree with you.
• Seek common ground.
• Vote.
• Volunteer.

I’m optimistic that if we collectively adopt and put these principles into action, we will unleash the potential of Gen Z to strengthen our democracy for many years to come.

Download the full speech transcript.