Students Hear From Virginia’s First Lady Suzanne Youngkin

Female students and staff gathered in Liberty University’s Towns Auditorium in the School of Business to hear from Virginia’s First Lady Suzanne Youngkin, Secretary of Health and Human Resources Janet Kelley and Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera. 

Youngkin’s Lynchburg Women+girls Sisterhood Event presented the opportunity for students to familiarize themselves with members of Virginia’s government and learn about the new policies being enacted for Virginians. Liberty’s Office of Government Relations and School of Business worked together to make the event possible on campus.  

Before Youngkin stepped on stage, Liberty’s President Dondi Costin spoke a few words regarding the First Lady’s ambition to serve others.  

“She loves people. … She has been involved in combating the fentanyl problem in the Commonwealth. She’s very interested in mental health and behavioral health access for youth,” Costin said. “… She really wants every Virginian to have access to the resources that they’re entitled to.” 

After Youngkin, Kelley and Guidera introduced themselves, the conversation shifted to center on the event’s topic: Guidera and Kelley’s Reclaiming Childhood initiative. Youngkin asked each of the secretaries to elaborate on issues that commonly impact childhood development and how their teams have worked to mitigate those conflicts.  

Kelley described an initiative that aimed to relocate children who were sleeping in Department of Social Security offices, hotels and emergency rooms. The Safe and Sound Task Force — Kelley’s first special project — was initiated by Gov. Glenn Youngkin April 1, 2022, and reduced the number of children sleeping in those places by 89% within 90 days, and it has since maintained a 76% reduction. 

Guidera said after the COVID-19 pandemic, Virginia had the largest learning loss in the nation concerning its fourth grade students. She said Virginia’s government is actively working to reverse the negative effects the K-12 systems have suffered from due to the pandemic.  

“We’re going to invest in people and especially in their educations, both our K-12 systems and our incredible higher education systems, both private and public,” Guidera said. 

Guidera said that through meeting with administrators and teachers in school systems to assess the impact of the pandemic, as well as the rise of technology on children, she learned that there was a substantial rise of behavioral and mental health problems among students. The primary factor influencing these issues was adolescents’ addiction to cellphones and social media.  

In order to create a solution, Guidera, Suzanne Youngkin and others met with members of the community. As a result, Executive Order 33 was issued on July 9 by Glenn Youngkin; it called for a phone-free atmosphere in Virginia’s educational buildings. Guidera said they have already seen positive effects since the order was put in place. 

“We’re hearing from teachers that they can teach an entire lesson and people are paying attention. We’re hearing from parents that their children are more involved, engaged and excited to talk about their school day at the dinner table,” Guidera said.  

Later, the audience was given the opportunity to ask questions to the panel.  

Alumna Gabriella Smith asked how individuals can serve the community, especially in regard to behavioral and mental health issues. Kelley recommended pursuing a profession in behavioral health, such as becoming a therapist — a job in high demand. Kelley also suggested visiting the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards for other ways to impact the community.  

China Brown, a student enrolled in Liberty’s School of Law, asked how the backlash of Executive Order 33 was handled. Guidera said that they knew parents and students may be angry, but the data that supported the move to a phone-free school day was “irrefutable.”  

Suzanne Youngkin told a story of how she and Glenn Youngkin were in an elevator with a man and his son. She said the son did not particularly like her husband, as she recalled the boy saying to him, “You’re the one that took my phone away.”  

Guidera told the crowd that a student advisory group to Virginia’s State Board of Education pushed for the executive order to be signed and instated.  

“They’re the ones that actually pushed us and said, “You should do this so that it’s easier for everyone to do the right thing,”’ Guidera said. “… When we listen to people who are telling us what they need, we don’t go the wrong direction usually.”  

Suzanne Youngkin concluded the meeting by thanking the students for their time. 

“We are so grateful for you, so grateful for your heart, so grateful for your time, and we will be around to visit with you again,” Suzanne Youngkin said. “Thank you, Liberty University, for just stewarding all these young people and being such an important part of the lives of so many Virginians.”  

Afterwards, the attendees had the opportunity to meet and pose for a picture with Youngkin, Guidera and Kelley. Guests were also able to enjoy ice cream from Rookies and coffee from Brewvita on their way out.  

For more information about Suzanne Youngkin’s Women+girls Sisterhood events, visit firstlady.virginia.gov/womengirls/sisterhood-events/. 

Sturek is the on-campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.