The Young Conservative Club (YCC) created a speaker series where they invite respected members from their community to come in and talk to them about their views and opinions on topics outlined by the YCC every other month.

“The members of YCC wanted to do more than just meet and discuss things amongst themselves—they want to hear from respected leaders in government and business, and possibly other fields as well,” Their sponsor, Ruth Curtman, math teacher, said. “And they want to make these opportunities available to anyone else who is interested.”

Curtman said she thinks it’s great that students are getting involved with relevant issues that reach beyond their school community.

“I love it,” Curtman said. “I think it shows maturity, that students see beyond their own bubbles, that they are thinking about their worldviews, and that they want to engage and have influence now, while they are still young.”

The YCC just had their first installment of their speaker series on Dec. 2. Former US Senator Jim Talent came in to discuss his background, his experience as a Senator, and how students can get involved within their communities.

For their first speaker, Curtman said they had a good crowd of students, a few parents, and some of the MHS administration.

“We almost filled a classroom, and hope to need a bigger venue next time,” Curtman said.

Jenna Barone, senior, is a member of the YCC and invited former Senator Jim Talent to be the first speaker in their series.

“I am neighbors with the family of former Senator Jim Talent,” Barone said. “While brainstorming ways to get involved in the community, I offered to see if he would come to Marquette and speak. Other members of the group had similar connections, and Mrs. Curtman came up with the idea of starting a speaker series, similar to the St. Louis Speakers Series.”

Barone said the meeting started off by having a member formally introduce the speaker, and then lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the speaker discusses a list of topics given to them by the club.

She said some of the topics former US Senator Jim Talent covered were his background and start to entering the political field, how students can get involved in the community, and the qualities required of a Congressman.

“Whatever your politics, Senator Jim Talent is an incredible individual,” Barone said. “He was a great first speaker to kick off our series.

Monica Ryan, senior, said she heard about the series through Barone and decided to go in order to support her friend and to get a better idea of the political spectrum

“Another reason why I went is because I’m not really sure where I am on the political spectrum so I thought it’d be a good idea to go and get educated and see where my beliefs fall, like comparatively with conservatism and if my beliefs didn’t fall there, then maybe I’d realize, oh maybe I’m more liberal,” Ryan said.

Ryan said it was interesting to hear former Senator Jim Talent’s personal experiences and his interactions with some big names in politics.

“I will definitely go again to head a different person speak,” Ryan said. “For sure.”