The committee room at Memorial Town Hall is not a typical venue for an essay reading. But on Tuesday, June 9, two students stood at the podium before the Township Committee to read the work that had won them the Louis Bay II Future Municipal Leaders Scholarship.[1]

Elizabeth G. went first. Her essay was titled "What I Like About My Hometown."

She catalogued the civic infrastructure most residents pass without noticing: the Zoning Board, the Historical Preservation Commission, the Department of Public Works, the Wyckoff Environmental Council. She mentioned the annual recycling day, the fishing derby at the Zabriske pond — she caught a fish there with a Barbie fishing rod at age five — and the Memorial Day parade. She has entered her gingerbread house in the contest at the James McFall Environmental Center multiple times over the years, and won several.

But what ran through the essay was something harder to list on an agenda. "What I love most about Wyckoff is knowing that I'm surrounded by a caring community," she read. "Friendly smiles and neighborly assistance are abundant."

She closed with the reason the year felt different. "This year we celebrate Wyckoff's 100th birthday," she said. "I will forever be grateful that I grew up in such a beautiful place with excellent teachers and mentors to guide me. I'm proud to call Wyckoff my hometown."

Julia C. followed. Her essay read less like a hometown tribute and more like a civic résumé — and what it described was substantial.

Julia C. served as a Junior Environmental Commissioner for the Wyckoff Town Council during the 2024 and 2025 year, working alongside two high school seniors. In that role, she helped produce a 150-person sustainability event at the Wyckoff Public Library, featuring student-run workshops and educational activities. Her year-long capstone project was a community-wide upcycle art fair: she organized recycled material drives across the Ramapo Indian Hills district, recruited 10 high school artists, and assembled an in-house exhibition of their work.

Outside that role, she attended monthly Wyckoff Environmental Council meetings as the Indian Hills High School representative, contributing input on town-wide environmental initiatives and reporting back on school environmental club activities. She has volunteered at the Wyckoff YMCA's Healthy Kids Day and the annual Team Up to Tidy Up cleanup. She is currently president of the Indian Hills Environmental Club.

One figure stood out in her essay: Beth Fisher, former chairwoman of the Wyckoff Environmental Council and Green Team, who Julia C. described as arriving at every meeting "enthusiastic, prepared, and ready to lead the council through decisions and tough conversations." Julia C. said she modeled her own collaborative style — in school projects, her capstone, and Model United Nations — on Fisher's example.

"The members of the Wyckoff Environmental Council showed me that this local government was truly one of the people," Julia C. read. "And their encouragement and welcoming approach marked the first time I truly understood that an individual voice can make a meaningful impact on a community."

"It became clear to me," she continued, "that young people, especially high school students, had the power to make an impact on the civil issues they care about."