Senior Sonja Barba was selected to be an Official Youth Presence (OYP) member for the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, from June 25 – July 3.

Barba had the opportunity to discuss a variety of controversial topics, ranging from class differences and feminism to addiction and alcoholism and how the topics can affect the possibility of ordination.

The selective group, included 17 other high schools, which came to a total of 868 deputies.

Barba said, “I got to see how everything works and even have a voice in saying how it could change for the better. Being surrounded by people of faith and constantly speaking about it made me gain better appreciation for how open my church is and how accepting we are as a whole.”

The Convention was noteworthy because Bishop Michael Curry was elected as the first African-American Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Barba had heard Bishop Curry speak at the Episcopal Youth Event last summer in Philadelphia but only met him through OYP.

Barba said, “My faith has been a priority of mine for most of my life and I’d have to say that this experience allowed me to get to know my church better.”

The experience allowed Barba to further increase her skills, whether it was speaking to a large crowd or to individuals one on one. With minimal sleep, Barba had countless activities and meetings from sunrise to sunset. As meetings lasted from two to seven hours, Barba learned to develop patience.

Barba said, “Convention week was the hardest week of my entire life, but it was one of the best experiences yet. I met new people, experienced new things, spoke about things I was passionate about and ultimately made a difference in the future of my church.”