2014 marks the eighth year of the City of Torrance Students and Government Day program. This program is geared toward 8th graders who attend public and private schools in the city of Torrance. Students and Government Day hopes to help students gain an understanding of local government and how it works to develop more informed and involved citizens and voters. It also exposes students to a possible career in public service.

To participate, 8th grade students were to write or neatly type a 100-150 word essay on the topic,"The foundation of the American political system is citizen participation. Within the City of Torrance, our Mayor's focus has been on active citizen participation through volunteering and helping in our community. This is called "paying it forward." Describe one project that you would develop and complete to "pay it forward" and explain how this would benefit our community.Among those who submitted essays, 21 students were invited to participate in a variety of activities, including job shadowing elected officials or city management staff for the afternoon and opening an actual City Council meeting. While this program is geared for 8th graders, the City encourages all students to continue learning about local government and how they can help serve the community.

Watch the 2014 Students and Government Day program.

 The 2014 Students and Government participants were: