Hinson visits with Mason City high school students as part of YIELD group

MASON CITY — North-central Iowa congresswoman Ashley Hinson on Friday stopped in Mason City to visit with high school juniors who are a part of the Mason City Chamber of Commerce’s Youth Investing Energy in Leadership Development group.

Hinson says she enjoyed the conversation with some of the youth leaders of the community.  “I found that to be an incredibly inspiring conversation because they wanted to know things like what’s the best advice you’d tell your 16-year-old self. I think about how do we help our next generation be successful. It’s by instilling good leadership skills, good critical thinking skills. I can tell you, some of the questions they were asking me are better than I’ve gotten from a lot of adults. I am inspired by this YIELD group of juniors in high school.”

Hinson says the YIELD group wanted to know a number of things about her job and how she got involved in politics.   “What they wanted to know was how did I get on the path that I was on to end up in Congress. I told them it was never in my life plan to do this. I was a journalist first and foremost, that’s what I cared about, asking questions and making sure I’m standing up for Iowans. I was very inspired by their questions, and you are right, it does give me good hope for the next generation.”

The YIELD group is comprised of high school juniors from Mason City High School and Newman Catholic High School to develop leadership skills in promising young adults by forging a connection between youth and the business community.