Among 30 Iola High School students, all but two said they plan to leave the area after graduation.
“What would it take to bring you back?” Patrick Zirjacks, with Thrive Allen County, asked.
Their answers were varied: Improved recreation facilities, more entertainment options, a new high school.
In other rooms throughout the school, students gave similar answers. Some wanted a shorter school day or a four-day week. More practical Career and Technical education courses, such as for law enforcement. More history classes covering topics such as the Civil War or World War II. More school-based clubs such as e-sports/gaming, trap shooting or karate. More business and industry, including hotels, clothing stores and ethnic restaurants.
The event allowed teenagers to talk about the strengths of their community and opportunities to improve. It was structured similar to Thrive’s “Community Conversations” series, where staff meet regularly with residents in each community to talk about their needs.
“When we do these conversations, guess how many people your age show up. Zero,” Logan Stenseng with Thrive said to the student body at the start of the activity.
IHS seniors and Thrive interns Chris Holloway, Shelby Peters and Brigham Folk organized and led the event. They were helped by Thrive employees and the Southwind Extension District.
Students were divided into groups of about 30 each, with a Thrive intern or employee leading the discussion. The goal was to come up with a list of “100 ways things can be different,” Holloway said.
Earlier this year, a small group of students met with some from the University of Kansas and Network Kansas to learn how to lead conversations and trigger creative thinking.
“This conversation is about future-thinking,” Holloway said.
“Maybe there’s something we’ve accepted as a reality, but this helps students think about ways it could be different,” Stenseng added.
When the students were divided into small groups, their discussion in some ways mirrored other community conversations. They agreed Allen County and Iola need to improve infrastructure, including sidewalks and roads. They want to see a greater variety of businesses and entertainment options, and white-collar jobs in accounting or the medical field.
Mostly, they want better recreational facilities, including an indoor swimming pool and indoor track. A group of athletic students talked about the need to improve the local batting cages.
But the teenagers offered some surprising insights too.
For example, when it comes to what they want in entertainment, they went retro. They expressed nostalgia for local businesses that closed years ago, when they were children or before they were born. They wanted a bowling alley and a skating rink.
