Eight iJAG students, including Vasquez (front row, second from left), met with six Iowa legislators on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Nov. 30 to discuss the future of Iowa and the impact of iJAG on youth. Pictured is Senator Grassley with iJAG students and staff. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

DES MOINES – Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates (iJAG) announces today that a GMG High School student has been elected Vice President of Iowa’s State Career Association (SCA). Lexi Vasquez began inaugural duties for her 2024-2025 term by meeting with Iowa legislators and attending the National Student Leadership Academy (NSLA) in Washington, D.C. last weekend.

Vasquez and seven other Iowa students kicked off their trip in the nation’s capitol with a tour of the White House and special meet-and-greets with six Iowa legislators:

�–� Senator Chuck Grassley

�–� Senator Joni Ernst and staffers

�–� Congressman Zach Nunn

�–� Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa’s 1st District

�–� Representative Ashley Hinson, Iowa’s 2nd District

�–� Representative Randy Feenstra, Iowa’s 4th District

Following a day at the White House, Vasquez attended NSLA for three days of skill-building, advanced leadership training, professional networking and activities related to effective communications. The annual event is exclusive for top student leaders across 39 state affiliates of the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) organization. Approximately 350 of 45,000 JAG students are invited to attend each year.

“The most meaningful part of my trip was learning how easy and important it is to make connections,” said Lexi Vasquez, an iJAG student at GMG High School.

The Iowa SCA is a four-chair student leadership team led and managed by iJAG, a statewide nonprofit organization who partners with Iowa schools to deliver in-class career development programming. Officers are elected annually by their iJAG peers at Iowa’s Leadership Development Conference (LDC).

This November at LDC, the majority of 1,100 iJAG student attendees voted for Vasquez to serve as an SCA officer next school year.