A Manatee County student is leaving this weekend to meet with the Governor of Florida.

An opportunity that would not have been possible, if she had not taken matters into her own hands.

Abby Afsahi, 17, is only a junior, at Southeast high School in Bradenton, but already she’s inspiring teenagers to learn more about the country’s political system and process.

“This program has taught me that no matter what branch you go into or what aspect into society, whether it’s a doctor to engineer, you do have to cross paths with the government at some point,” said Afsahi. “Every law targets a population and so no matter what I do, it will always circle back to this program.”

Afsahi is talking about the Florida YMCA Youth and Government program. A club she is responsible for bringing to her school.

This year, she moved to Manatee County from Broward. She said she was involved in the club at her old school, but when she got to Southeast, she learned it didn’t exist.

“I really wanted to start it because I didn’t want to go through my last two years of high school without the experience,” said Afsahi.

However, getting it started at her new school wasn’t easy. She said after reaching out to the Manatee County’s YMCA, she was told they didn’t have the funding to help them.

Then, the YMCA in Pinellas County offered to help them. As of now, Southeast has eight members. All are getting the opportunity to travel to Tallahassee and take part in a youth-run, youth-led, model government process.

It allows young delegates to be engaged with issues that impact their families, schools and communities.

The group’s sponsor, Claudia Gordon Sohnleitner, an English teacher at Southeast, said she’s happy to see this new group and proud of Abby for making it happen.

“I know she’s heading into creating a country that she not only loves but respects and will work hard for,” said Sohnleitner.

Afsahi’s hard work is paying off. She was just selected to serve on the YMCA Youth in Government Youth Advocacy Committee.

She will travel to Tallahassee on Sunday and meet with Governor Rick Scott and other lawmakers next week.

Afsahi is one of 12 students selected out of 675-statewide.

Afsahi is hoping other schools in Manatee County will start their own clubs soon and the Youth and Government program will continue to grow.

By participating in the program, you get college credits.