At a time when many high school seniors are focused on their next chapter, 18-year-old Henry Quintanilla is already looking toward the future of his community.
Quintanilla, a Yorktown High School senior who plans to study civil engineering at a college close to home, was appointed to the town’s Climate Smart Communities Task Force for a two-year term. He is believed to be one of the youngest people to serve on a town volunteer committee. Outside of school, Quintanilla has logged more than 100 hours of volunteer service, helping with community events and other local efforts.
He first learned about the task force through a proposed internship involving his high school and the committee. When the school and task force were unable to reach an agreement to establish the internship, Quintanilla later learned he could still join the task force independently because he was 18. He went through an interview process with the town before ultimately being selected.
He told Yorktown News that the environmental aspect of the task force appealed to him because of its impact on his generation and those to come.
“As a young person, I feel like it’s my future, my friends’ future and all of our futures," he said. "So it feels more personal to me to do something that I can see the effect and have an impact. And I love this community.”
The Yorktown Town Board celebrated the appointment at its Sept. 8 meeting, recognizing Quintanilla’s commitment to serving the community and bringing a youth perspective to the task force.
Quintanilla said he hopes to connect the task force with younger residents while helping with social media and data collection.
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