Meiling Sun Email & Phone Number

- Represented Neuqua Valley High School on the Statewide Steering Committee of ILYAG- Attended monthly meetings to provide student input to the Board of Advisors- Helped plan portions of the State Conference, such as fun night activities and schedules

2023:- One of five delegates selected to represent Illinois at CONA- Researched, wrote, and presented a legislative proposal regarding increasing the size of the House of Representatives- Proposal was voted by delegates to advance to Committee C (top 20% of proposals)2024:- Spearheaded effort to increase IL delegation size from 5 delegates (2023) to 15 delegates (2024)- Served as Illinois's Roundtable Chair/Delegation Leader- Researched, wrote, and presented a legislative proposal regarding standardizing the implementation of electrocardiogram tests in sudden cardiac arrest screening procedures- Proposal was voted by delegates to advance to and pass in General Assembly (top ~50 out of ~600 proposals)- Awarded the "Outstanding Statesman" award for exemplary performance in debate- an honor only granted to 30 delegates across the nation

- Assisted the Youth Secretary of State with various tasks throughout the Conference- Managed bill flow for ~500 legislators, which involved setting dockets on Airtable and delivering bills to chambers while sessions were running- Worked with Executive Officers and Parliamentarians to maintain fluency

- Assisted the Youth Governor with various tasks throughout the conference- Reviewed bills and met with bill groups to provide feedback- Led the Governor's Cabinet and instructed members on how to conduct thorough legislative research

- One of six freshmen from across the state elected to serve in leadership- Organized legislative docket and introduced each bill on the floor- Assisted Presiding Officers in running legislative sessions smoothly

- Selected as one of two high school students from Illinois to represent the state as a YMCA Youth Advocate- Participated in a six-month training program led by the YMCA Government Relations team to learn about the basics of advocacy and develop an advocacy plan- Attended a four-day conference in Washington, D.C., among 54 fellow youth advocates and countless other YMCA representatives - Met with congressional staffers to advocate for the YMCA priorities, with a personal focus on supporting the highest level of funding for the CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

- Attended weekly meetings with the Executive Board to discuss the ILHSD agenda- Helped plan various events, such as voter drives and webinars with legislators- Managed all ILHSD social media platforms and created content about upcoming events and initiatives

- Attended weekly meetings to discuss current events and provide student input to the Representative- Helped write bills regarding youth civic engagement, motorcycle safety, and background checks for private sports league coaches- Participated in several of the Representative's community events