Owen Daggett

I have been a member of Northampton High School's Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Track and Field teams since my Freshman year (2023). As a captain this past Track and Field season I have coordinated team events, provided leadership to new members, and assisted coaches.

As an active member of my school's local Key Club chapter since 2023 I have acquired more than 100 service hours. For the past year I have served as the Division 15 Lieutenant Governor. In this role I have been responsible for collaborating with Key Club members across New England on large projects, communicating with and sending out monthly newsletters to Key Clubs in my division (Western Mass), and fundraising for international charities. I now serve as the Vice President of the Northampton Key Club where I coordinate local clothing/toy drives and volunteer initiatives.

Through the Northampton Youth Commission, a youth advocacy group in my home town, I have chaired the Budget and Education Subcommittee. I have organized many events to advocate for increased state funding for school districts like my own, who have struggled to keep level services. We have pressured and and lobbied the Massachusetts's Department of Secondary Education (DESI) to reexamine outdated state funding formulas that squeeze minimum aid and declining enrollment districts, often in the more rural part of the state and Western Massachusetts. We have also testified in front of the Massachusetts Senate and House to advocate for a systemic change to the Chapter 70 funding formula that has left many public school districts across the state behind.

As a volunteer at Camp Sunshine, a camp in Casco Maine for kids with life threatening illnesses and their families, I worked as a camp counselor during their retinoblastoma and other eye cancers week. I helped facilitate camp activities for six to eight year olds like canoeing, volleyball, and other games for young children during the week.