Four students from Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School were selected to participate in the annual Long Island Regional Student Forum on Feb. 27 at St. Joseph’s University. The event was organized by the Eastern Suffolk and Western Suffolk BOCES superintendents. 

Juniors Melanie Robertson and Skya Cham were selected as participants, while senior Damaris Bonilla, who attended the forum last year, was trained as a student facilitator. In addition, Copiague School District’s ex-officio student board member Olivia Tysko joined other ex-officio members from school districts across Long Island.

During the forum, students expressed their views on pivotal issues concerning mental health, academic pressures, career planning and the school environment. Their findings were shared with state and local leaders. The students were accompanied by Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School social studies teacher David Leboff, who was also trained as an adult facilitator.