Student Government – New Jersey
“I am proud to be an active female in what was once considered a ‘man’s world’…I didn’t get to where I am today because I am a girl. I’m here because I was the most qualified candidate.”
Danielle Desaulniers, a recent graduate from North Hunterdon High School, has been involved in her community for as long as she can remember. At the age of seven, she joined a community theatre group known as Show Kids Invitational Theatre and has been an active participant ever since. Her more recent accomplishments include creating and coordinating a charity fashion show, known as Fashions for Our Gener8ion, which benefited her former middle school and the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund, serving as the 2007 YMCA Youth Governor and representing her state, New Jersey, this March at the United States Senate Youth Conference. Outside of these activities, she has also traveled to Pascagoula, Mississippi and Tegucigalpa, Honduras for church sponsored mission trips. Danielle was also awarded the 2006 Ralph Muzzey Youth Leadership Award by the Hunterdon County YMCA and a National Merit Scholarship.
Next summer, Danielle plans to attend the Conference on National Affairs for her fourth consecutive year where she will serve as a Presiding Officer, the highest distinction a student delegate can achieve. She plans to attend The George Washington University in the fall where she will study political science and anthropology.
How did you become interested and involved in YMCA Youth and Government?
It's ironic that I joined this club, which has become such an influential part of my life, simply because there was an extra bed in a hotel room. As a freshman, several of my friends were involved in the program and, after learning at the "pre-legislative" session (our one day pre-conference prep period) that there wan an extra spot, they asked me to join. After some persuasion by both the girls and my freshmen history teacher, the club advisor for our school, I decided to sign up.
What prompted you to become a leader?
Although difficult, my first year in the program was undeniably rewarding and as a sophomore, I was naturally interested in becoming more involved. But, still fairly unsure and nervous about the complicated parliamentary procedure and program structures, I was hesitant to sign up. Thankfully, a senior in my French class was on the Governor's Cabinet for the upcoming conference and she persuaded me to seek an officer position; that’s when I applied to be, and was selected as a committee chair for that year's conference.
That year, I was also chosen as an alternate delegate to the Conference on National Affairs (CONA) and, because there were not enough delegates to fill all twenty spots, I was able to attend. Suffice it to say that CONA was one of the most inspirational and amazing experiences of my life. Because of my experience that summer, as well as words of advice and encouragement from many of the new friends I had made, and a personal desire to become more involved and inspire others through this program, I decided to run for the position of rising Youth Governor in my junior year.
What steps did you take to achieve your goals?
In my mind, one of the most important steps any aspiring leader should take is to seek advice from others. Thanks to the relationships I had developed – or started to develop – with my program advisors, former leaders within the club and many delegates, I had an extremely encouraging sounding board for my ideas, worries, questions, and everything in between. But, even more importantly, I was able to learn from their experience as I sought to enhance my own.
Another step that is essential for success is preparation. One of the many tasks I was asked to complete when I decided to run for Governor was to write a platform detailing my personal opinions, suggestions and goals in eight specific areas of New Jersey policy. The first completed draft was close to ten pages (despite my efforts to keep the paper as short as possible) because I had so many statistics, citations and quotes. Although I eventually ended up editing the document down to a more reasonable three pages, because I had invested the necessary time and energy, I felt more prepared when I was called to publicly defend my position in front of all the delegates in a pre-election debate. I believe that, thanks to my research and preparation, I was more confident and articulate in presenting my ideas.
What obstacles have you faced in achieving your goals?
One of the most challenging obstacles I have faced is self-confidence, or lack thereof. There have been many times in my life when I questioned my dedication, my motives, and whether or not I truly deserved what had been attributed or given to me. Many times, I wondered what made me different, why I had been “chosen,” when I looked around and saw many, many other people that I believed had done more, were more deserving, etc. In the months, weeks, even days leading up to my election, I questioned myself. At one point or another, I doubted many of the qualities I proudly claimed, the level of commitment I promised to uphold, my ability to successfully complete the job I so desperately sought. In most cases, I simply internalized this self-doubt, which probably hurt me even more in the long run. As a result, after the initial excitement and shock of winning the election had worn off, these emotions intensified to the highest point yet, as I wondered “why me?”
How have you confronted them?
To be completely honest, there are many times when these questions, doubts and worries still resurface. Until recently, I still felt at times that my success was undeserved, unfounded. However, I can truly say that I have been actively battling my insecurities and recently reached a huge milestone in overcoming them. This summer, I was privileged to have the opportunity to attend CONA for the third time. At what I thought was my final conference, I decided to abandon my fear that what I said wouldn’t be good enough, to finally trust myself, my thoughts and my words in their entirety. Following both the presentation of my proposal and multiple speeches on others’ proposals in front of half the conference, I was shocked to learn how well received my words had been. Other delegates would stop me simply to tell me how inspired and amazed they were by my speeches - presentations that I had personally deemed good, never great. While I had felt my voice waver, my confidence falter, others had only seen a strong, articulate and intelligent young woman (or so they said). When I later learned that I had been selected as a Presiding Officer (PO) for next year’s conference, one of six graduated seniors invited back by a committee of adults, students and advisors, I was ecstatic. To me, that moment confirmed what other delegates had been telling me all week and I was able to clearly see how unnecessary and unfounded my doubts really were.
It still sounds strange to me to say that I judge myself more harshly than others do, but I’ve come to realize that unless I can admit and accept that fact, I will constantly feel overshadowed by the standards I hold myself to. Because I’m now fully able to recognize and talk about this constant obstacle, I know that I am making progress towards overcoming it completely – once and for all.
How has your experience been shaped by being a woman?
As only the seventh female Youth Governor of New Jersey in a long line of men, the distinction provided by my gender is one that will always be brought up. In some ways, it’s unfortunate that this fact even has to be mentioned because it emphasizes the vast differences between men and women, specifically the stereotype that the typical political leader is male. But, at the same time, I am proud to be an active female in what was once considered a “man’s world.” It’s also encouraging to know that I didn’t get to where I am today because I am a girl – I’m here because I was the most qualified candidate at the time. Hopefully that fact will serve to encourage and inspire other girls looking to take on leadership roles in all facets of our society.
What lessons have you learned from your experiences?
I have learned countless lessons from my involvement in Youth and Government. The program has worked to strengthen my public speaking, helped me become more organized (as Governor, I was constantly making and updating lists!), taught me to coordinate my efforts with those of others and developed my sense of time management. The four core values of the YMCA – caring, respect, responsibility and honesty – have become even more intertwined in my life, shaping me into the person I am today. But, past those obvious changes, I have learned lessons in success and failure; I have felt validated and defeated. As I touched on before, I have gained a new perspective of self-examination, which has taught me to be more confident in both my actions and abilities.
If you had the chance, would you have done anything differently? If so, what and why?
Anything at all? Well, my first year in Youth and Gov, I was in a program called Freshmen Focus with all the other 9th graders in the club. On the second day of the conference, after being secluded and prepped for “real sessions,” I was moved from my sheltered group of 15-20 into one of our Senate chambers, which typically hold roughly 40-60 delegates. Scared and nervous, I presented a bill on DYFS reform which another freshmen delegate had authored. After the bill failed to pass, I was upset and refused to speak again in chambers for the rest of the conference! It seems silly now, but at the time, I was devastated. If I could change one thing, I would go back to my freshmen year and force myself to get over it, to move on, and to speak – after all, I only hurt myself by staying silent.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
It’s difficult to imagine myself at 28 because, even four years ago, I would never have imagined my life would take me to the place I am today. My current prediction is that in ten years, I will have already graduated from law school and will be a practicing attorney. Hopefully I’ll also still be actively involved in Youth and Government as an adult advisor, or even more! It may be a little early for me to be seeking a political office, but I hope it’s not too overly ambitious to think I may have a seat on a local or county advisory committee of some sort. But who knows – maybe in ten years I’ll be in back in Honduras, where I spent a week this January, or in China, putting the language I intend to learn over the next four years to good use! What I do know is that even if my future doesn’t go “according to plan,” that’s okay. I certainly didn’t plan to stumble across Youth and Government, but it has been one of the best overall experiences I could have hoped for. I definitely won’t rule anything out.
What advice do you have for young girls who are interested in Youth and Government or have leadership aspirations?
There was a poster in one of my classrooms last year that said something along the lines of “Doing what’s right isn’t always easy, but doing what’s easy isn’t always right!” Although admittedly cheesy and cliché, the message behind it is very important. Stay true to yourself and to what you think is right, no matter what other people try to tell you. It may not be the shortest path to success, but if you do the job right, to your satisfaction, then it will be so much more fulfilling when all your hard work pays off!
But no matter what, remember to have fun! Don’t take things too seriously right now; there will be plenty of time for that once you take the SATs or start filling out college applications. You are still a girl – don’t grow up too fast!
