The Mat-Su School District made headlines last fall when they voted to severely limit the student representative position on the school board. Ben Kolendo, a senior at Mat-Su Career & Tech High School in Wasilla, held the seat at the time.

Then this summer, the school board voted to entirely remove the position, which dates back to 1979.

ATMI producer Edison Wallace Moyer sat down in the studio with Kolendo to talk about his experiences on the school board. He spoke about the responsibilities of being a student representative, the conflicts with the school board that led to his role being limited, and the larger story that followed.

Hosted by Ormund Alaois.

Produced and written by Taylor Heckart. Edited by Logan Ehrhart.

Music by Kendrick Whiteman and Devin Shreckengost.

Many thanks to supporters of our podcast, including the State of Alaska Division of Public Health.

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Alaska Teen Media Institute is based in Anchorage, Alaska. We would like to acknowledge the Dena’ina people, whose land we work on.

***A previous version was published on 9/4/24. The ATMI team made an editorial decision to repost with some comments regarding public testimony removed.