Participants in annual SPEDA high school focus group express need for teen community center
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
While high school students in 2022 have more technology and media options at their fingertips than ever before, when it comes to how they want to spend their time, parents can take comfort in this fact: These students just want a place where they can spend time together.
And similar to how their parents may have done when they were teenagers, in the absence of a central location to gather, teens will find unique places to make that happen.
Six recent high school graduates shared their wants and needs for their community during the Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority (SPEDA) annual focus group, which serves as the capstone project for the organization’s summer intern. This summer’s intern, Somerset High School graduate Macy Norfleet, assembled students representing two of the community’s public high schools to talk about what they would like to see in their community in order to consider building a future here.
The idea for the focus group was born from SPEDA’s mission to invest in quality of life experiences that attract businesses and encourage young people to stay in Somerset-Pulaski County after high school graduation.
“One of our main goals is to help our next generation of leaders,” SPEDA President and CEO Chris Girdler said. “A lot of the things we’re doing are not for the now, not for the present. We’re trying to lay the foundation for the future and explore ways in which we can support that generation.”
This group agreed that one way the community can support its young people is to provide them with a facility where they can gather in the evening hours — whether to play sports, play board or video games, watch TV or just hang out.
“We’ve got Rocky (Hollow), and we’ve got the alumni center, but we need something the community can have that is a little bit more open, whether lower cost or free,” Pulaski County High School graduate Caleb Wright said. “I just feel like there needs to be something else for us to do.”
PCHS graduate Paisley Bolin agreed.
“We need somewhere to be with friends and hang out,” Bolin said. “Many of the restaurants here are mainly for an older crowd, so many of us don’t go to those places yet. We don’t have a certain spot where we can go.”
While these students are making the best of it in the absence of such a facility — parking lots or scenic spots by Lake Cumberland may be generational hangout locations — they agreed they would love to see something like this built as they begin to make a choice about where to live as adults.
It could be the tight-knit, at-home feeling these students already have from growing up in Somerset-Pulaski County that builds their desire for a location to spend time together — that feeling was unanimously what they said they love most about their hometown. Somerset schools’ traditions, the community’s long-standing events like Somernites Cruise and Master Musicians Festival, and the way downtown has been revitalized to include dining, entertainment and festivals are all huge hits with this group.
“It’s community,” PCHS graduate Macen Catron said. “I love everybody here, you know. It’s my home. I was raised up here. All of my family’s from here. Everyone is really nice; it’s just a tight-knit community here. I love it.”
Bolin pointed to efforts to get people involved in the community as another reason it feels so connected.
“The interactiveness we have built here, getting people involved in the community — like the festivals are a great example. We bring people from everywhere,” Bolin said. “A lot of those people come to stay. … I’m glad we have built something that we can be proud of.”
Regardless of any decision to follow their advice and build a community center, these students encouraged SPEDA and other local leaders to continue listening to and investing in Somerset-Pulaski County’s young people. Doing so will help keep them here, Norfleet said.
“I am staying local for college. I didn’t make this choice because it’s cheaper than university or because I feel like I’m not ready to move away from home. I made the decision to stay local for college because I love my community,” Norfleet said. “I’ve lived here my whole life and over the last few years, I’ve noticed tremendous growth in Somerset and Pulaski County. Through my internship, I got to see this growth happening first-hand.”